


Twisted Stone

by Emcee



Series: A Twist of Fate [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animagus, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Canon Era, F/M, For Want of a Nail, Martial Arts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-02-28 04:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2718659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emcee/pseuds/Emcee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Black is eleven years old and hidden by his guardians from those who want to harm him. But a letter has arrived for him that will change his life. The time has come to face his past, go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and find out who Harry Potter really is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sirius Black knew he lived an extraordinary life. He was very proud of that fact. Whatever was expected of him, he went in the other direction.

It was true it had not always brought him joy. His life had not been without heartache. He'd had more than his fair share. Being a soldier on the front lines of a war meant losing people you cared about. Sirius had lost two of the people he'd care about more than anyone in the world, his best friends James and Lily Potter. He remembered the night it happened. When he'd run into their house and found James-- his brother in everything but birth-- lying dead, wand still clutched in his hand.

But tragedy could bring joy. James and Lily had entrusted him with the safety of their son, Harry. As difficult as the journey had been to keep Harry safe, it had given Sirius so much. He loved Harry as if he were his own.

His travels to keep Harry safe had brought him to the woman he had parted with and his biological son. A third child-- a daughter-- followed.

It made Sirius' stomach twist to think about, but that horrible night had managed to bring such joy to his life. He doubted any of it would have happened had he not been given Harry. He shuddered to think what would have happened to him had he not had Harry to worry after.

Worrying after Harry was Sirius' current concern. So often was the case, it seemed.

"Harry's got his letter to Hogwarts," Sirius murmured, turning the letter over in his hand to look at the wax seal closing the envelope closed. He looked up to glance at Remus and studying the werewolf's face. He was frustratingly impassive. He then looked to Yuki, who was biting her lower lip worriedly. "I suppose it makes sense. His birthday is only a week away."

Yuki snatched the letter from Sirius's hand to examine it, as if she were going to find some sort of flaw or forgery. "But..." She shook her head fractionally then looked to Sirius for explanation. "I don't understand. We haven't talked to the Headmaster in years. How does he know where we are?"

Sirius let out a small sigh at his wife's questions. He hated bringing such worry to her, especially on their anniversary. It had been nearly six years since they had spoken with Dumbledore. Their relationship with the Headmaster had never recovered after his hunt for Sirius. While he may have reluctantly forgiven Sirius and helped them hide from Death Eaters, it had been easy to let their contact fall to the wayside once they'd settled off on their own.

Remus gave a small shrug and a sigh. "He always had a way." Remus was the most level headed of the three of them. Sirius was sure they would have gotten into far more trouble were it not for his lycanthropic best friend. "Nico still comes to see us. Maybe he told Dumbledore. They've been friends for decades." 

Yuki shook her head firmly. "No. Nico knows the value of a secret. There's no way he would tell Dumbledore about us. Not when he knew we didn't want him to know."

Remus pushed the letter to the centre of the table, giving another small shrug. "There's Andromeda. Or perhaps McGonagall followed us from the World Cup last year. Or... He's _Dumbledore_. We've probably never been out of his sight. Not really. He just allowed us to think we were."

Sirius scrubbed his face with his hands before running his fingers through his shoulder-length black hair. A growl rose in his throat, the sound so similar to that his canine Animagus form was wont to make. "Why would Hogwarts accept a student who isn't living in the United Kingdom?"

"I wasn't living in the United Kingdom when I was accepted," Remus pointed out. He pulled out his wand, waving it to put on the kettle. The gesture almost made Sirius laugh. Leave it to dependable Moony to make tea in the case of an emergency. "We were in Oregon at the time, at the commune. But I was British born. My name went down at birth. So did Harry's."

"What was that, Moony?"

All three adults froze at the voice. They turned slowly to the doorway. The slight boy wandered into the kitchen, his face obscured by the issue of _Which Broomstick?_ he'd just received.

"Um..." Remus cast a worried glance to Sirius. He opened his mouth, obviously looking for a cue from Harry's father rather than taking the lead himself.

"We were just talking about your problem keeping Nori out of your room," Sirius lied. The pre-teen boy was always complaining about his younger sister invading his space. He had been on about it before the idea of a Nimbus 2000 had distracted him.

Sirius was loathed to lie to any of his children. Keeping things from people had been directly responsible for James and Lily's deaths. But he needed some time. Not forever. Just a day or two, so he could figure out exactly what to say to Harry. A day or two was all right, wasn't it?

"I didn't break anything!" Noriko insisted as she marched into the kitchen, trailing after Harry. She bounced on her heels. "Come on, Harry! You said you'd go outside with me!"

"That was before I got my magazine," Harry said. He pointed to a page. "Look at that."

Noriko got on tiptoes to look at the page. "It's just a broom."

"Just a broom?" JJ sauntered into the kitchen and rested his arms on top of Noriko's head. "Nori, that is the Nimbus 2000!"

"So what?" Noriko asked, rolling her eyes.

"It's the best broom in the world," Harry replied. His emerald green gaze slid over to his godfather. "You know... My birthday is in a few days."

"So it is," Sirius demurred. It was easier to focus on Harry's want of a new broom than to think about the letter on the table.

JJ's brow knit as he looked back and forth between his parents. "Weren't you two going out?"

Sirius nodded, reaching to the table and grabbing the letter that sat there. He slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket. "Yeah, _Kachan_ and I will be going in a minute..."

Harry frowned. "Are you sure everything is all right, Padfoot?" 

Sirius nodded. "Of course, Pronglet." He shared worried glances with Yuki and Remus. "There's nothing to worry about at all."

* * *

 

Yuki and Sirius collapsed next to each other on the queen sized bed in the quaint bed and breakfast room they'd rented for the night. 

It was not how either of them had expected to collapse on the bed. First of all, they were still dressed in their clothes for their dinner out. Second of all, the dinner they'd gone to have was wrapped matching aluminium foil swans. Neither of them could find the appetite to eat and just went to their room. 

"We could head home, you know," Yuki muttered. 

Sirius shrugged. "We've paid the night as it is." He rolled onto his side, propping up his head with his hand. "Besides... Here, we can talk without Harry overhearing us. You know he was onto us. If he caught wind of us talking, he'd definitely sneak about trying to find out what was going on."

Yuki rolled over to face him. "We're going to have to talk to him about it eventually."

"But does it have to be now?" Sirius reached over and played with a lock of Yuki's short black hair. She used to wear it so long, but she'd cut it last year. It made her look more mature. Sirius wondered how old he really looked if he hazarded a close look in the mirror.

"Do you really think Dumbledore will stop?" Yuki asked. "Remember when he was looking for you? He sent _Fawkes_ to my flat."

Sirius nodded. "You're right. But do we want him to go?" 

Yuki sighed. "I'm his mother. If I could keep him in a house next door to me for the rest of his life, I would. But I'm fairly certain that leads to unhealthy development."

"He doesn't have to go to Hogwarts though," Sirius murmured. He crawled to Yuki, draping an arm over her hip. "We could see if the Salem Institute would be willing to take him. Or _Mahōtokoro_. That way, he could continue with his _Mahō Budō_."

"And he could be half a world away from the people who want to hurt him," Yuki finished.

Sirius shook his head. "You say that like it's a bad thing. We're his parents. We're supposed to protect him from people who want to hurt him. That's what we've been doing for the last ten years. Now we're just supposed to throw him into that mess again because Dumbledore came calling?"

He jumped to his feet, grunting. "I need to go out for a run."

Yuki sat up. "Do you want some company?"

Sirius shook his head. "No... I just... I need to clear my head." He gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry I'm not up for much celebration tonight, Kitten."

"I'll take a rain cheque. Don't get into too much trouble."

Sirius gave a nod before transforming into his gigantic black dog form. Yuki rose to her feet and opened the door for him, sighing. She watched the dog lope down the hall. He nearly knocked down the elderly owner as she walked in the opposite direction.

"Goodness!" She cried. She noticed Yuki. "Is that yours? I'm sure I said that pets weren't allowed."

"He won't be back," Yuki sighed.

The woman held out a stack of envelopes. "You've had some mail arrive. Quite a bit of it actually."

Yuki accepted the envelopes. "Thank you."

She walked back into the room, looking over the five letters addressed to her and Sirius.

She opened the first one, sighing as she saw the envelope with Harry's name on it and the Hogwarts seal on the back.

* * *

 

 

Remus sighed as he poured the tea into cups. How many had he drunk since Harry had gotten his first letter?

First. He'd gotten several of them over the past few hours. It seemed Dumbledore had no faith in their willingness to reply promptly to the letter from Hogwarts. Or perhaps Dumbledore had charmed the envelope to know when the recipient had read it.

All of the envelopes had been incinerated. Sirius had one. That was all they needed. Remus has done it as discreetly as possible.

It wasn't just an issue of Harry of course. Remus gave Alice and Frank an empathetic smile as he set the tea down on the table.

"Neville too?"

Alice nodded. "We haven't talked to him about it yet. We thought it best to wait. See what you three were going to do about Harry." 

Remus held up a finger and glanced towards the sitting room. He walked over to the doorway, glancing inside.

For once, the kids were quiet. JJ and Neville were playing chess while Harry read with Noriko and Lex.

Noriko leaned her head against Harry's shoulder. She yawned. "Why can't the princess fight the dragon?"

Lex looked over at her. "Because that's the prince's job."

"Nuh-uh." Noriko shook her head. " _Kachan_ could save Daddy from a dragon. So could your Mummy."

"Why don't you write your own story?" Harry suggested. "Where the princess does the saving?"

"Maybe I will," Noriko said, smiling at her brother. She pointed at Lex. "And _you'll_ be the prince that the princess has to save."

"Why don't you make Harry the prince?" Lex complained. "I don't want to be a prince."

"Because Harry could save himself from a dragon."

Harry glanced up, noticing Remus. "Is everything all right, Moony?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah. It's fine. Just... You kids should be getting to bed soon."

"Harry's not done the story yet!" Noriko whined.

Harry nodded. "And Nev and Jay aren't done their game."

Alice walked up behind Remus. "Thirty minutes. Then it's time."

With a collective sigh, the kids nodded. Remus glanced at her, eyes widening. "How do you do that?" 

Alice smiled and beckoned him back towards the kitchen. "Come on."

Remus sat back down at the table, picking up his teacup. "There's no point in talking anymore about this tonight. We can't make an decisions without Padfoot and Yuki."

"And they're deep in anniversary mode," Frank sighed.

"Are you kidding me?" Remus laughed bitterly. "You _really_ think that's what Padfoot is doing right now?"

* * *

 

Padfoot raced through the lush foliage on the grounds around the bed and breakfast. He and Yuki had picked a place in the middle of nowhere. It had seemed romantic at the time. Now it served as a balm on his active mind.

He wasn't sure what was bothering him the most about the letter. Yes, he was worried about Harry's safety. But he still felt bitter anger at the way he had been treated by Dumbledore.

He knew the coot had plans for Harry. Putting Harry into a position where Dumbledore could manipulate him for months at a time while Sirius couldn't interfere made his insides twist.

Padfoot heard the rustling in the brush behind him. He turned and sniffed the air. There were of course many other animals-- real animals-- out. But there was something familiar about the scent.

 

The scent was not only familiar, but one not normally found in this area of the world. The large dog cocked his head at the appearance of the black leopard, something held in its mouth. He straightened his back and soon the gigantic dog was replaced with the man once again. 

"I'm still getting used to you being able to do that."

The leopard disappeared, Yuki standing before him. She took the papers from her mouth. "Well, it did take me fifteen years." She touched a finger to her nose. "It was the only way I could track you down."

Sirius exhaled, looking around the woods. "Told you I needed to think, Kitten."

"Not really an option." She held up the envelopes. "These arrived at the front desk. If the Headmaster is sending us letters for Harry, no doubt he's sent more the house."

Sirius groaned. "If he's this insistent about just getting a reply, what happens if we give him one he doesn't like?"

"Do you think we will give him one he doesn't like?"

"I don't know!" Sirius raked his fingers through his hair. "This should be one of the best moments of Harry's life, getting his letter from Hogwarts. But we both know what Dumbledore has in store for him. That's our _son_!" 

"And he's James and Lily's son too," Yuki said calmly. She slipped an arm around his waist. "We can talk about this all we want together. But that doesn't change the fact we're going to have to talk to him."

Sirius put his head on Yuki's shoulder as they walked along. "Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort was ever afraid of... And I sometimes think he's who we really have to worry about."

* * *

 

No one seemed surprised when Sirius and Yuki came back before midnight. Sirius gave his friends a wry smile. "I suppose my teenaged prowess has long been forgotten about."

"Just know how you worry about things," Remus sighed. 

Yuki looked to Alice. "So... You guys..."

Alice held up the letter with Neville's name on it. "Have you two come to any decision? What are we going to do? I mean... We can't go back... Can we?" 

"It's been six years," Frank pointed out. He gave his wife a gentle squeeze. "There hasn't been any Death Eater activity since..."

"...Since we were attacked by them?" Sirius responded tersely. "Since your mother was murdered by them? Since we only got away by the skin of our teeth?" 

Frank's hands tightened into fists as he glared at Sirius. Sirius knew it was dirty pool bringing up Augusta Longbottom, but it was the truth. They had left because Harry and Neville were in danger. How could Dumbledore expect them to forget that and return?

"Of course," Remus said calmly. "There is no place safer than Hogwarts. We were all safe there in the middle of an _actual_ war."

"But it's more than that," Sirius shook his head. "It's not just the threat of Voldemort. What about Dumbledore? We'll be giving him seven years to manipulate Harry."

Frank sighed. "I know you're still angry at the Headmaster--"

"You're damn right I am!" Sirius said, jumping to his feet. "You weren't there, Frank! He had my family on the run for _a year and a half_! And it's only because I blackmailed him that he let us keep Harry!"

" _Sirius!_ " Yuki placed her hand on Sirius' shoulder. "This is not about hand delivering Harry to Dumbledore. This is about Harry-- and Neville-- going to school. And it's going to be about JJ, Nori and Lex going to school soon enough. Hogwarts is the best school in the world. We've taught them a lot, but we can't teach them everything." 

"Not to mention..." Remus ran a hand through his light brown hair, which already had flecks of grey in it. "We can't keep them at home forever. They need to be kids. They need to have experiences outside of us. Magical experiences. Are we just supposed to keep them in Muggle school, deny them their heritage?"

"Everyone we know is there," Alice pointed out.

"We've built a life here," Sirius snarled.

"What kind of life is it?" Remus pointed out. "Except for the World Cup last year, we don't associate with wizards unless it's absolutely necessary and if we do, we use aliases. The kids don't have any friends outside of each other. We've been living off your gold for years. Maybe... Maybe it's time." 

Sirius sank back down into the sofa. He tilted his head back. "I just don't know. I know they have to go to school, but... Are we sure about Hogwarts? About going back? We've been able to make lives for ourselves now. Can we really just give it up?"

"But it's not the life we wanted." Yuki squeezed Sirius' hand. "When we were in England, we were happy."

"That was six years ago," Sirius sighed. "And now..." 

"Now he's growing up," Remus finished for Sirius, nodding his head. "That's it, isn't it, Padfoot? The last time we were in England, he was a small child. He barely remembers it. Now, he's turning into a young man. He's headstrong and he's going to get himself into as much trouble as we ever did."

"More," Sirius sighed. "That kid has every Death Eater in England wanting him dead. And what about their kids? The ones who are Hogwarts now? What about _Snivellus_? The last we heard, he was still at Hogwarts."

"Could we get support from the Ministry? Someone over Dumbledore's head?" Alice took a hold of Frank's hand.

Yuki sighed. "With Crouch in the top spot now? He's never been overly fond of any of us."

Remus got to his feet. "Listen, we're not going to come up with anything tonight. We just need to go to bed. Nothing's going to happen in the next few hours that'll make this decision any easier or harder."

* * *

 

Tonks let out a small moan as she rolled over in bed. She was used to waking early, preparing for the training regime that would start in a few weeks when she finally began Auror training. But the knock on the door woke her several hours before she'd planned to get up.

Bleary-eyed from her weariness, Tonks nearly tripped on the hem of her pyjama bottoms. "Hang on a tick!" She called towards the door.

She tried her best to manoeuvre around the boxes in the small flat. She'd moved into the small flat above Twilfitt and Tatting's only a week previously and she was always rubbish at household charms. Her mum had been sick about the idea of her moving to London, but she wanted to be close to work. 

Come to think about it, it might _be_ her mother. Andromeda had taken to dropping by at odd times. Tonks quickly glanced into the mirror to attempt to tame her rumpled and vividly purple hair.

"I'm coming!" Tonks said, opening the door. "What are you doing here, Mum, it's so..."

Tonks blinked at the person on the other side of the door. She swallowed hard, remaining frozen. "You're not my Mum."

Quirinus smiled at her. "N-N-Not s-s-so m-much." 

Finally shaken out of her stupor by his smile at her, Tonks let out a whoop and threw her arms around his neck. He grunted in surprise at her weight being thrown at him, wrapping his arms around her.

"You should have told me you were coming back!" Tonks cried. "I would've made myself presentable." She bit her lower lip and blushed, reaching a hand up to attempt to flatten her hair again.

"Y-Y-You l-look b-b-b-beautiful," Quirinus insisted. "I-I m-m-missed you."

"You're going to have to tell me all about your trip!" Tonks pulled him into the flat. She waved her hand at the boxes. "Don't mind the mess. I just moved in. But I guess that means you got my last letter. You haven't been writing much..."

Quirinus nodded. "Th-th-things w-w-w-were..." He went quiet for a long moment. A smile then came over his face. "Interesting."

"Are you heading back to the school already? It's summer, you shouldn't need to." She pulled him to the sofa. "Do you have somewhere to stay?" She fell into his lap. "I know! You should stay here! I finally told my Mum about us. Oh, she nearly had a fit, but I'm out of school so there's not anything she can do about it. We can be a _real_ couple now."

Quirinus took a hold of Tonks' hands. "D-D-Dora... S-s-slow d-down... I-I-I j-just g-g-got b-b-back..."

"Sorry." Tonks looked down. "I'm just... Excited. It's been a year! But you're back now and if you're here, then you still... Want..." She laughed nervously. "I mean, you _do_ still want...?"

Quirinus nodded. "Y-y-yes."

Tonks threw herself at Quirinus, taking his mouth in a kiss. He accepted it, cupping her face. When he pulled back, he was breathless. "I-I-I d-do have s-s-some th-things t-t-to do in L-L-London."

"Then it's settled!" Tonks laughed. She rose to her feet, holding her hand out to him. "But, you know, you _did_ interrupt my sleep. I think I want to head back to bed." She crinkled her nose. "And I think I'd like you to come with me."

Quirinus allowed Tonks to pull him along. "O-Oh..." 

"It _has_ been a year," Tonks teased. "I would think you would be as tired as I am..."

Quirinus nodded. "Y-Yes... T-T-Tired..."

* * *

 

It should have felt warm with Nymphadora lying in his arms, but Quirinus felt the cold sweep over him. That familiar, icy sensation only meant one thing. He had first felt it in Albania and it had been following him ever since.

He slipped out of the sleeping girl's arms and crept quietly towards the loo. He closed the door behind him and felt the iciness increase.

" _This is why you desire power?"_ The dark voice hissed in Quirinus' ear. " _To impress a slip of a girl desiring to be an Auror?"_

"She is not threat to you, Master," Quirinus replied.

" _Of course she is not!"_ With each word, the voice grew more snake-like. " _But you bring me to an Auror out of... Affection?"_

"She'll learn," Quirinus promised. "She is young and loves me."

" _Love_ ," the voice now laughed.

"Nymphadora will follow me and I forever follow you."

Quirinus' head jerked up as he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. He then heard the light rapping. "Quirinus? Is everything all right?"

Quirinus laughed nervously. The coolness in the air abated slightly and he opened the door. "O-O-Of c-c-c-course, D-D-Darling. J-J-Just A-A-Apparation... S-S-Sickness..."

"That's a shame," Nymphadora sighed. She gave Quirinus a light kiss on the cheek. "I need to go out and find birthday presents for Harry and Neville. If you're up for it, do you want to meet for a nosh at the Leaky? Around one?" 

Quirinus gave a brief nod. "A-A-all right."

Nymphadora smoothed down his hair. "All right. Just go back to bed for now. I need to shower and go out. I'll be quiet. See you later. Rest well."

Quirinus gave another nod, watching Nymphadora retreat into the bathroom. When the door closed behind her, his expression darkened as the chill returned to the air.

" _She's shopping for... Harry?_ "

Quirinus nodded, walking back to the bed. "Her cousin is Harry Potter's adoptive father. They lived abroad. But Nymphadora knows where they are."

The dark laughter chilled Quirinus as much as the presence around him did. He shivered involuntarily. " _Well, Quirrell... Here I thought your girlfriend was nothing but base sentiment. But you might have given me the most important thing..."_ The laughter deepened. " _A path to Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived._ "


	2. Chapter 2

The largest bedroom in the place known as _The Dog House II_ belonged to Harry Black. Well, it did not just belong to Harry. He shared it with his brothers: JJ, Neville and Lex. While Neville and Lex weren't actually Harry's brothers, he always thought of them as such. He couldn't remember a time when he lived without them.

The room was bright and cheerful, decorated with pictures of Quidditch teams, including the Canadian National Team (they'd gotten to see the final match, all five days of it) and the Toyohashi Tengu (Harry's aunt Kei used to be Chaser for them when he was little). There were many pictures from places they had lived over the years. Moony's parents' commune, _Grandpere_ Nico's home in France and the row house they had lived in when they were in New York, when Harry and JJ had been babies.

The room held two bunk beds. Harry slept in the top bed to the right of the window. Right next to where he slept he had a picture affixed to the wall. It was of a happy, smiling couple: a dark haired man who looked very much like Harry and a beautiful redheaded woman. He'd had this picture next to his bed for the past ten years.

Harry was looking at the moving photo. It was blurred, with his glasses still off and sleep still heavy in him. He was in that comfortable space between sleep and awake. He knew he was supposed to get up. He'd already hit the snooze on his alarm clock once. He could hear JJ shuffling around the room below him, getting dressed.

"Get up," _Kachan_ called from outside of the room, rapping on the door. "You're going to be late."

Harry groaned and rubbed his eyes. He rolled over and grabbed his round glasses, slipping them on so he could see. He grumbled softly. He loved his _Kachan_ , but she was very strict when it came to their lessons. She always had been.

He pulled himself out of bed and attempted to smooth down his wild hair. No matter how much he tried, he could never get it to lay flat. He wished at the very least he could get his fringe to cover the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

"How is she able to get up this early?" Harry asked, blinking the last bits of sleep away and yawning greatly. He stretched his muscles, trying to work the kinks out of his body. He looked down from his bunk.

JJ looked up and gave a shrug, smiling at Harry. "She has said that _Ojisan_ was even stricter than she is."

Harry rolled his eyes. "That's hard to imagine."

"Did you hear them come in last night?" JJ kept his voice low, so not to wake Neville and Lex. " _Kachan_ and Dad were supposed to be out all night, but they came home."

Harry pressed his lips together tightly and hummed softly. He didn't want to think about why Padfoot and _Kachan_ would cut their anniversary night short. They did squabble with each other sometimes, but they'd both been excited about celebrating their wedding anniversary. Could they have gotten into a fight so bad as to disrupt it? The idea of his parents rowing made his stomach twist.

He knew Padfoot and _Kachan_ weren't his biological parents. They always told him about James and Lily Potter, the wizard and witch in the photo by his bed. Harry's birth name was Harry Potter. But he'd been going by Harry Black for so long, he could barely remember a time when he didn't. He couldn't remember James and Lily at all. He had only been a year old when they had died. They had left him in the care of their best friend-- JJ's father-- Sirius Black.

Harry might not of had a traditional biological family, but he felt he had the best family in the world. Sirius and his wife Yuki were Padfoot and _Kachan_ , the best parents he could ask for. Remus Lupin-- Sirius and James' best friend-- was like a second (or he supposed _third_ ) father. Neville's parents Alice and Frank were like his aunt and uncle.

He liked being Harry Black because it made him feel like he was really part of the family. For Harry, blood didn't matter. The people that loved him, that had raised him, were his family. Considering how close Padfoot had been to his biological parents, even if they were still alive this would still be his famiy.

There was another reason why Harry preferred to be Harry Black. That was because Harry Potter was famous.

Harry Potter's parents had died protecting him from Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard to ever exist. When Voldemort had tried to kill him, a spell had rebounded, destroying him. Harry was left with nothing but a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

Harry had once asked Moony why the curse didn't work on him. Moony didn't have an answer. Considering Moony was about the smartest person Harry knew, he figured that meant no one knew how he survived that night. He tried not to worry about it. As long as Voldemort was gone, it didn't much matter how he actually survived.

Because of his encounter with Voldemort, Harry Potter was famous. Harry Potter was famous for something that Harry couldn't even remember. Being Harry Black had much fewer expectations.

There was another knock on the door. "Harry, JJ... You're going to be late."

Harry finally pulled himself out of bed at _Kachan_ 's second warning, scaling the ladder down to the floor. He gave his brother a tired smile. "Hold her off for a few minutes, yeah?"

JJ gave Harry a nod and rushed off to keep _Kachan_ at bay. With his brother distracting Kachan, he donned his _hakama_ and _uwagi_. He just needed a few minutes to collect himself before going down to training.

He opened the window and took a deep breath, letting the clean summer air fill his lungs. He was just about to close the window when an owl flew by. He was surprised when-- rather than swooping into the kitchen, it flew past his window again. It released something from its talons. Harry raised a hand to catch he wayward letter. His green eyes widened when he set eyes on what was on the envelope.

It was addressed to him!

Harry rarely got actual letters. He got _Which Broomstick?_ every month. Sometimes he got letters from his cousin Dora, but she would never address it to Harry Potter. Besides, she was getting busy with her Auror training. 

He continued to stare at the letter as he made his way down the stairs into the kitchen. Padfoot was at the stove, cooking breakfast. He glanced over his shoulder. "Oi, Harry... You better get outside to training. _Kachan_ is going to be cross."

"But I've got a letter," Harry said, holding up the envelope. "I want to read it."

Moony folded down the top of _The Daily Prophet_ so he could look at Harry. "You've got a what?"

"A letter," Harry repeated. "An owl just delivered it." Harry turned it over, seeing a red seal. "It's from Hogwarts."

Harry, of course, knew about Hogwarts. It was the school that Padfoot, _Kachan_ , Moony and his parents had gone to. It was the best magic school in the world.

"You don't need to open it," Padfoot said, a harsh tone in his voice.

Harry's brows knit as he looked at his Godfather. "Huh? But... Why not?"

"I know what it is," Padfoot replied. "It's your letter of acceptance. Your birthday is coming up next week. They'll want you to attend this September."

Harry's heart did a funny sort of somersault. Imagine, him going to Hogwarts! It always sounded like his family had so much fun there! And there was so much he could learn. Had Neville gotten a letter too? His birthday was the day before Harry's...

And then he realized if he went to Hogwarts, he'd be going back to England. Harry Potter would be even more famous there, as Voldemort terrorized English wizards. Harry Black would not be what people expected. And what would happen with his family? Would they stay in Canada? He knew it was normal to go off to boarding school, but he wasn't sure he wanted his family to be on another continent. 

"Oh," Harry nodded slowly. He swallowed and looked down at the letter once again. "How do you know?"

Padfoot stepped up to Harry and reached into the back of his jeans, producing an identical letter. "And this arrived for you yesterday. I was going to talk to you about it."

Harry blinked at the letter his Godfather was holding. "I already got a letter?"

Padfoot nodded. "Things are complicated. There is... A lot we need to talk about. This is a decision we're going to have to make as a family. There are some things that we haven't told you about."

"Oh." Harry nodded, his head already swimming with the possibilities. "Okay."

What could Padfoot, Moony and _Kachan_ have neglected to tell him? What could possibly be worse than a madman who murdered his biological parents and tried to murder him too?

"Harry!" _Kachan_ entered the kitchen, her face lined with irritation. "You were supposed to be at training ten minutes ago! Why are you--?"

_Kachan_ quieted when she saw both Harry and Padfoot holding the identical letters. Her shoulders slumped. "Are we talking about this _now_?" Her voice was plaintive.

Harry straightened up and shook his head. "No, we're not." He tore his letter in twain, handing the two pieces to Padfoot. "I'm sorry I'm late. It won't happen again." He strode up to Kachan and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'll work for an extra twenty minutes."

"Harry," Moony sighed. "Are you sure?" 

Harry nodded. "Yeah. We'll talk later."

* * *

 

Harry loved learning _Mahō Budō_. He'd been doing so as long as he could remember. It made him feel powerful, cleared his mind from anything that was troubling him.

Until today. No matter how he tried, he couldn't get the prospect of talking to his parents out of his head.

Going to Hogwarts would be incredible. He would get to be around other kids, kids who weren't JJ, Noriko, Neville and Lex. He had no friends outside of them. Not that he didn't love his siblings. But it got a little lonely sometimes.

He knew how his parents worried. There was always a dark tone in which they discussed their former lives in England. But if he went Neville would go too, wouldn't he? And JJ, Noriko and Lex would come when they were eleven.

After following _Kachan_ 's instructions and doing his katas, Harry settled down to meditate. He couldn't hear _Kachan's_ footsteps, but he knew she had left to allow him to concentrate. He found none of the peace he usually did.

His mind kept wandering to the images he had seen of the grand castle in Scotland. His parents-- both adopted and biological-- had looked so happy when they were at Hogwarts. What could have happened that soured them so much on the experience? Surely it wasn't just the memory of Voldemort that made the thoughts bittersweet.

Finally, Harry gave up on clearing his mind and collapsed backwards on the grass, sighing deeply. He supposed the only thing to do was to talk to them about it. He just wanted to delay it a little longer.

Harry felt a presence looming over him. He opened his eyes a crack and saw JJ hovering over him.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Dad's made breakfast," JJ replied. "Aren't you coming in?"

Harry shook his head, throwing his arms up over his face to block his eyes from the ever brightening morning sun. "Not hungry."

JJ threw himself onto the grass beside Harry. "What's going on? Dad and Moony were talking all quiet-like when I went inside. They shut up as soon as I got in. _Kachan_ 's been distracted all morning. She was supposed to be training Nori now, but instead she let her go and play..."

"Got my letter to Hogwarts," Harry replied, turning onto his side to look at his brother.

JJ blinked. "So?" He absently picked up some clover from the grass. "Why is everyone acting like that's a bad thing?"

"I don't know," Harry sighed. "But it is. Padfoot, _Kachan_ and Moony are worried. They want to _talk_. Dora _said_ the professors could be strict, but she had fun when she was there!"

JJ looked down, frowning slightly. "Maybe they don't want you to be so far away. I mean I know I'm going to miss you."

Harry frowned, giving JJ a small nudge. "Come on, Jay... If I got a letter, you're going to get one next year. And then we'll be at school together. The Black boys together? Hogwarts won't know what hit it!"

JJ looked up, one eyebrow arching in question. "So you want to go then?"

Oh. Harry hadn't actually realized that. But if he had said it, he probably meant it. He gave a small shrug. "I... Well, I mean... I don't know? I guess it sort of depends on the talk I have."

JJ shrugged, gesturing to the house. "Maybe you should just go do it. You know _Kachan_ went easy on you today because of circumstances, but it's not going to stay that way. Better to just get it over with." 

Harry nodded, pulling himself to his feet with a small grunt. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

* * *

 

Moony stayed quiet the entire time. That was what stuck out in Harry's mind. He sat in his armchair, hands folded neatly in his lap as he listened to Padfoot and _Kachan_ reveal the true story of why they had fled England.

Albus Dumbledore-- the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the famous wizard, a man Harry had a dozen times over on Chocolate Frog cards-- hadn't wanted his parents to raise him. He had sent Padfoot, _Kachan_ and Moony on the run for years.

Harry had vague memories of the man. He was a wizened man, with friendly blue eyes and half-moon spectacles. Despite his friendly nature, he always seemed so serious in Harry's hazy memories.

"Why didn't he want you to have me?" Harry asked, looking to Padfoot. He hated how his voice was shaking.

"He didn't think you were safe with us," Padfoot replied. He knelt in front of Harry, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "He wanted you hidden away in the Muggle world. With your mother's sister."

Harry recoiled, grimacing. "Aunt Petunia?" _Kachan_ had told him about her when Harry asked if he had any biological family left. She was an unpleasant woman who hated magic. She and her husband hadn't even attended James and Lily's wedding, which had made his mother cry.

He could only imagine what his life would have been like with them. Not being able to use magic? Not having a broom? But worst of all was the idea of not being with Padfoot, _Kachan_ , Moony, JJ, Noriko and the Longbottoms. He loved his family more than anything. The idea of being without them as akin to wondering what life would be without his left leg.

"He had a point, Harry," Padfoot murmured as he finally moved away from Harry. He was looking away. Harry only ever saw Padfoot look this brooding when Halloween was approaching. "You weren't safe with us. Not in England. You might not remember when we lived there. We went back for a while. And we were attacked."

They were attacked? He was sure he would remember that, no matter how old he had been.

"Dumbledore put a memory charm on you," _Kachan_ explained, understanding the confused look on Harry's face. "You, JJ, Noriko, Neville and Lex. You were all so terrified by what you had seen..."

"A memory charm?" Harry yelped. "He messed around with my _mind_?"

"A temporary one," Padfoot whispered. "It will have faded now. You were just very young. You don't remember because you were so little." He took a deep, shuddering breath and glanced to _Kachan_. "You don't want to remember it, Harry."

"It was _his_ followers?" Harry looked from Padfoot, to _Kachan_ , to Moony. "Voldemort?"

"Yeah." Padfoot nodded. "They thought maybe if you died that they could bring him back. That was when Neville's Gran was killed. That was why Ali and Frank started travelling with us. Because Neville wasn't safe either."

There were so many questions going through Harry's mind. He didn't know where he was supposed to start! But the mention of his best friend seemed as good a place as any. "Why Neville? Why wasn't he safe?"

Padfoot sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. "I wanted to wait until you were older..."

"I'm old enough," Harry insisted. "I can understand what you're telling me. Don't keep things from me anymore. I need to know."

"There was a prophecy," Padfoot explained. "I don't know what the exact words were, no one does except Dumbledore... But it said that Voldemort would fall to one person. But the description of the person... It could have been either you or Neville. The Death Eaters knew enough about the prophecy to go after Neville as well."

"A prophecy?" Harry's head was swimming. He reached up and rubbed his forehead, realizing belatedly he was rubbing the spot where his scar rested. "But... It doesn't matter now, does it? I mean the prophecy's been fulfilled. Voldemort is _gone_."

He looked to his parents and then his uncle. None of them were meeting his gaze, instead looking uncomfortably at each other. 

Harry felt his stomach sink. "Isn't he?"

* * *

 

No one knew if Voldemort was really gone. It seemed like when the curse rebounded and hit him, his body had been destroyed. But Voldemort has always boasted about knowing how to cheat death.

It was on him. Everything was on him.

More than ever, he hated Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived.

It was too much. How could anyone be able to handle it? Being the only person able to defeat the evilest wizard to have ever existed?

When he returned to home, Moony was waiting for him with a cup of tea and some biscuits.

"You didn't eat breakfast," Moony said gently. "This isn't the most nutritious, but you should have something."

Harry accepted the biscuits and sat cross-legged on the ground with his adoptive uncle. "Would I be safe?" Harry asked. "If I went to Hogwarts?"

Moony averted his gaze. "I think... Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world."

Harry played with one of the biscuits before taking a bite. He still wasn't very hungry, but it kept him from having to as anything else for a moment. But soon enough, he had chewed it all he could and he swallowed the crumbs. "Do you _want_ me to go?"

Moony hesitated, still not looking at Harry. "If we could keep you with us forever, you know we would... But that's not healthy for you. We can't continue to hide you. We need to let you grow up, have experiences away from us. You need to learn to be a real, proper wizard. There's no better place for that than Hogwarts."

Harry inched closer to Moony. He got the hint and put an arm around him. Harry rarely sought to be held, not for several years now. But he wanted to be close to someone. "Am I a weapon against Voldemort?"

"No," Moony said firmly. "You are Harry."

"I'm scared, Moony."

Moony nodded before tightening his embrace. "I know, Harry. We all are."

"What will happen to you guys? If I go to Hogwarts?" Harry closed his eyes tightly. He was afraid he might cry. He didn't want to. He wanted to be brave.

"We'll go back to England with you. We've still got houses there. We can be close to you while you go to school. JJ and Noriko will receive letters when they turn eleven. And they will want to be with you, wherever you go." Remus smoothed down Harry's windswept hair. "But this decision is yours, Harry. We can't make it for you." 

Harry nodded slowly. It was so much. It was _too_ much. "Can I have some time to think about it?"

Remus nodded. "Take all the time you need."


	3. Chapter 3

Harry had felt the best policy was to act like everything was normal at the Dog House. He was going to pretend like owls weren't arriving every few hours with more and more letters for him. 

Every once and a while, Padfoot, _Kachan_ or Moony would give him a look and he would shake his head no. He hadn't come to a decision yet and he didn't want to talk about it.

They all took their cues from him. If he wanted to not make an issue out of it yet, they were perfectly fine with that.

The owls were getting a little irritating though.

Harry was lying on his stomach on the floor of the sitting room. JJ was in the corner, strumming at his guitar. Moony was on the sofa reclining. He looked pale and drawn. He always looked terrible right before the full moon.

"It's the fastest model yet," Harry explained, pointing to the picture in _Which Broomstick_? "It's got a high-polished mahogany handle and brass footholds..."

Padfoot entered the sitting room, levitating a large tray with tea. Kachan followed him with a tray of sandwiches. "You've already gone over all of this, Pronglet," Padfoot teased. "Jay, guitar away if you're going to have tea."

JJ set his guitar down and strode to the sofa, sitting down next to Moony.

"Well, I want to make sure you know everything about it," Harry insisted. He grabbed a sandwich from _Kachan_ , giving her a kiss on the cheek. " _Arigatou._ "

"We know, we know..." Kachan said with a smile. "We also know that your Cleansweep is several years out of date and you're having trouble keeping the twigs straight."

Padfoot gave a nod. "We're also fully aware that your birthday is five days away."

"So?" Harry looked hopeful.

Sirius held out a cup of tea to Harry. "Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would we?" But he winked at Harry.

Harry broke into a large grin, accepting the cup. "Are Neville and Alice coming for tea?"

"In the greenhouse," Frank explained as he strode in. "They're in the middle of a very sensitive trimming. They yelled at me to get out. They'll come in when they have the chance."

Moony struggled to sit up to take a teacup. "You should know better than to interrupt them while they're gardening."

Padfoot hissed softly at the sight of Moony. "You all right there, Moon? Can I get you anything? There's a raw steak in the fridge..."

Moony shook his head. Harry noticed him look over himself and JJ. Moony hated showing any sign of his lycanthropy in front of them, even if they all knew it. "I'll be fine after it's done."

"Frank, you want to go out with the boys tonight?" _Kachan_ asked. Both Frank and Alice had recently achieved their animagus transformations. Alice's-- a mink-- wasn't much good for controlling a large werewolf, but Frank's bear form was more than a match. "Or if you'd rather stay here, I can go."

"I'll go," Frank said with a nod. He smiled at Padfoot and Moony. "What do you say? Boy's night out?"

"Can't wait," Padfoot barked out a laugh.

"Maybe you can't," Moony sighed.

Harry grabbed another sandwich off the tray _Kachan_ had put down on the table. "When do I get to start learning about Animagus Transformation?"

Padfoot furrowed his brow, throwing himself down on the floor next to Harry. "You know, I don't know why you shouldn't start now."

" _Sirius_!" _Kachan_ admonished him. "He's only..."

"Only a bit younger than I was. I started studying when I was twelve. I would've done it sooner if this guy--" He nudged Moony's leg. "Would've told us about his transformation in first year."

"I didn't tell you, you figured it out," Moony sighed.

Padfoot nodded sharply. "I know. And I'm still really hurt about that." He grinned at Harry. "I'll give you all my books on Animagic and any pointers I have."

"What about me, Dad?" JJ asked.

Padfoot opened his mouth to speak, but _Kachan_ fixed him with a look. "Sirius Black..."

Padfoot shrank down slightly, giving JJ an apologetic smile. "Next year. When you're ready for school."

The mood of the room changed instantaneously. Padfoot sighed deeply and covered his face with his hand. "I mean, when you're eleven..."

Harry set his cup down on the tray and stood up. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but found himself unable to rid himself of that wretched feeling.

Padfoot was on his feet in an instant. He grasped Harry's shoulders. "Harry, I didn't mean... I'm not..."

"It's fine, Padfoot," Harry assured him. "I just... I'm going to go outside."

* * *

 

There was one person Harry could talk to about everything. It wasn't because he was Harry's best friend, even if he was. It was because he was going through much the same thing. 

Neville was in front of a large plant with snapping bulbs trying to nip at him as he trimmed off their leaves. His mum was doing her best to hold them back.

Harry frowned slightly as he closed the door to the greenhouse behind him. "Sorry... Bad time?"

Alice glanced to him. She waved her wand and froze the plant solid. She shook her head. "No, it's fine, Harry."

Harry's brow furrowed as he looked at the now still plant. "Why don't you just do that before you start trimming it?"

"You can't unfreeze the leaves once they've been severed," Neville explained. "Makes them useless."

Harry nodded. He kicked a pile of dirt on the floor. "I was... I was hoping we could talk. About things."

Alice nodded. "I figured that's why you were here." She placed a hand on Neville's shoulder. "It's all right. Go on. I can handle things."

Neville pulled off his thick, dragonhide gloves before setting them on the worktable. He walked to the door, gesturing for Harry to follow him.

Harry left the greenhouse behind Neville. He shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping his gaze on the ground. "Did your parents tell you?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah. A few days ago. I read my letter. I only got one. I guess the Headmaster doesn't think my parents will keep it from me."

Harry's stomach gave an odd flip. Did the Headmaster really distrust his parents that much? He thought they would keep it from him? "What did they tell you?" Harry studied Neville's expression. He normally looked so cheerful, but the knowledge of what had happened to them obviously weighed on him.

"Probably everything you were told," Neville replied after a long moment of silence. "About how one of us was supposed to do something that defeated Voldemort. And it ended up being you. But the Death Eaters wanted to make sure so they attacked both of us."

Harry took a few strides head, turning so he stood in front of Neville. "So what do you think?"

Neville stopped walking, looking at Harry. His expression had changed from one of worry to earnestness. "I'm going to do what you do, Harry. Can't imagine  going to school without you. We've been together for as long as I can remember."

Harry shouldn't have been surprised that was Neville's answer. He had a quiet confidence to him, but he usually let Harry take the lead in whatever they did. "I want to be with you too, Neville..." Harry frowned deeply. "But I don't know what to do. I'm making this big, huge decision that's going to affect _everyone_. How can I tell everyone 'okay, we're moving back to England and there might be evil wizards who try to kill us because of me'?" 

Neville shook his head. "Harry, they're not going to try to kill us because of you. They're going to try to kill us because they're _evil_. Padfoot, Moony, Yuki and my parents were attacked for years before either of us were born."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. But I've put a big target on us..."

Neville frowned deeply. "So you don't want to go?"

Harry shook his head. "That's the problem, Neville... I _do_." He ran his hands through his hair.

He turned his gaze away from Neville. "I don't know who the Boy Who Lived is. I barely know who _Harry Potter_ is. I mean, I've read about him, but he's not _me_. I don't remember what I did when I was a baby or if I even did anything at all. But I think I need to know and the only place I'm going to find that out is Hogwarts. And if Voldemort _isn't_ gone... Well, if I'm supposed to be the one who gets rid of him, I can't run away from that. My parents didn't run. Padfoot, _Kachan_ and Moony only ran because they wanted to protect me. Maybe it's time for _me_ to not run." 

Neville placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Then why haven't you said yes yet?"

Harry finally lifted his head to look at his friend. "When we ran last time your Gran was killed. My parents died protecting me. You've seen the picture of the Order. You know how many of them died. What if... What if me going back makes it all start again?"

Neville brushed a lock of his hair out of his face. "Harry... We've read about him. If Voldemort isn't gone, it won't matter where you are. The only thing we can do is be ready."

Finally, Harry managed a smile.

* * *

 

With the full moon, there wasn't a good time for Harry to tell his guardians about his decision. He wanted to wait until Moony was feeling better and Padfoot didn't have to worry about him. 

The night before Neville's birthday, Harry woke from his light doze, hearing conversation in the kitchen.

It wasn't abnormal for the adults in the house to be up much later than the kids, talking. It also wasn't abnormal for Harry to try to listen in on their conversations. Sometimes it was fun, if they were playing a game or _Kachan_ was showing off one of the weapons she didn't want the kids to see. Sometimes it was boring, like when Moony would talk about his latest translation. And sometimes it was downright disgusting, if he caught Padfoot and _Kachan_ or Alice and Frank flirting with each other.

Tonight, he heard a voice that he hadn't heard in over a year. He smiled at the sound and carefully got out of bed. If he woke JJ, Neville or Lex they would want to come with. The more people who tried to sneak down, the easier it was to get caught. 

Harry walked on tiptoes. If he was caught, he would try to explain it as a lesson in stealth. Of course, he doubted that excuse would hold much water, even if _Kachan_ was always extoling the virtues of it in their lessons.

Harry snuck down the stairs and peered into the kitchen. He had been right about the voice! It belong to _Grandpere_ Nico.

Like all of the people in Harry's family, _Grandpere_ wasn't actually any relation at all. He wasn't even related to the Blacks. Rather, he was _Kachan's_ former tutor. When they had lived in France, they had lived in _Grandpere_ 'shouse. He was a very friendly man who liked to make gold coins appear from behind Harry's ear. His wife made the most delicious eclairs in the entire world. They both seemed very lonely, so when Noriko was only four, she asked if they wanted to be their French grandparents, which they happily accepted.

_Grandpere_ didn't seem his normal jovial self. Usually if he came to visit, he'd come wake them up, even if it was late. While _Grandpere_ was always old, he looked even older than usual, his face deeply lined and shadows under his eyes.

"She said the house was absolutely ravaged," _Grandpere_ explained as _Kachan_ covered his hand with hers.

"You can stay here as long as you need. Do Nelle or Mimi need anything?"

_Grandpere_ shook his head. "Nelle just needed to rest after our travel.  And Mimi's fine... Just shaken. She may like a small shot of wine."

The house? Mimi? Mimi was the House Elf who lived at the house they'd stayed at in France. Someone had attacked it?

Harry's stomach squirmed and he leaned in closer. He didn't want to miss anything.

"You're sure that was what they were looking for?" Padfoot poured some dark brown liquid into a glass and held it out to _Grandpere._

" _Merci_ ," _Grandpere_ took the glass and tip it back. "What else could they be looking for?" He pushed the empty glass away. "Whoever it was has no idea where we are-- we didn't leave any trail from Carmague. But we're taking precautions regardless."

Padfoot sat down next to _Kachan_. "Is it where I think it is?"

_Grandpere_ nodded. "I know how you feel about him, but there's no one I trust more with the Stone. He'll be moving it in the next few days."

Harry took a step and heard a yowl. He looked down. He'd accidentally trodden on Eris' tail. Having a black cat and trying to be stealthy could be a hazardous.

"Who's that?" Padfoot called out.

Head down, Harry slunk out of the shadows. "I was just... Umm..."

"You were eavesdropping," _Kachan_ finished for him. "Don't bother coming up with an excuse."

"I heard _Grandpere_ ," Harry explained. He waved feebly. " _Salut_."

A ghost of a smile flitted across _Grandpere's_ worn features. "It's been a while, Harry. Look at you... So grown up. Happy early birthday."

Harry shifted in his spot. "Is... Is everything all right?"

"It's nothing to worry yourself with," _Grandpere_ insisted. "It's just the troubles of an old man."

Harry looked uncertain, but Padfoot rose, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right, Pronglet."

Harry put his chin up, trying to look confident despite the twisting in his stomach. "You said you would be honest with me."

"I know," Padfoot patted his shoulder. "It has _nothing_ to do with anything we told you..." He trailed off. "As far as we know."

"But _Grandpere's_ house..."

"Nico's done some incredible things, Pronglet. And there are going to be people that want to find out what that is." He smiled softly. "Now get to bed. It's a big day tomorrow."

Harry nodded. "Before I go to bed, I can take something to Mimi..." He looked around the room.

Yuki nodded, conjuring up a small glass of wine. She carried it to Harry. "She's in the guest room with Nelle. Be quiet, Nelle's sleeping. And then _right to bed_."

Harry nodded, carrying the glass up the stairs, careful not to step on Eris again. He opened the door to the guest room and saw Nelle in bed, turned away from the door. He then noticed Mimi curled up in the rocking chair in the corner. 

" _Mimi? Bonsoir._ "

The House Elf raised her head. Huge, watery eyes looked over Harry. " _Jeune maître_ 'arry?" She sniffled. "You 'ave grown."

Harry knelt down, beckoning to her. " _Viens ici._ "

Mimi got out of her chair, standing on two spindly legs and made her way over to Harry. He handed her the tiny cup of wine. " _Grandpere_ thought you could use that."

_"Merci, jeune maître_ 'arry." Mimi took a small sip.

"What happened, Mimi?" Harry asked.

Mimi let out a small cry. "It was terrible! Oh! 'e destroyed the 'ouse. There was nothing Mimi could do! Oh!"

It was only Harry's quick reflexes that stopped her from dropping the glass on the floor as she went to bang her head on the doorframe.

"You don't have to do that!" Harry hissed low. "It's all right! _Grandpere_ is just glad you're all right! But what were they looking for?"

"Oh!" Mimi shook her head. "No... Mimi can never tell. Mimi iz sworn not to speak of it. Not even to _jeune maître_ 'arry."

Harry sighed. It didn't look like he was going to get any answers. "Oh. Well... I'm glad you're safe, Mimi."

Mimi gave Harry a weak smile as she took her glass back and took another sip. " _Merci_. _Jeune maître_ 'arry iz as kind as Mimi remembers." 

Harry smiled once more before rising to his feet. He let out a sigh. It didn't seem like he was going to get any more information about what was going on.

* * *

 

Birthday celebrations in the Black-Longbottom family were always a huge event. It was even more exciting with the additions of _Grandpere_ and _Grandmere._ Whatever incident that had occurred the night previously had been set aside in favour of celebrating Neville and Harry's birthdays. Due to how close they were, they always celebrated on the same day, alternating whether on Neville's or Harry's.  

Mimi had also recovered from her shaken state. She'd insisted on taking the cooking duties for dinner. When it was time to eat, the dining table was filled to the brim. Roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding, potatoes and gravy, _Confit de Canard_ , _Bouillabaisse_ and a dozen other dishes. For pudding, she'd constructed a large dark chocolate cake with Harry and Neville's names written in blue script. As everyone ate, the House Elf's mood became lighter still.

"I don't understand how you managed to do it all!" Padfoot said, patting his stomach as he finished eating. "I didn't even know we had half this stuff in the kitchen."

"Where did you learn to make _Gyoza_?" _Kachan_ asked.

" _Madame_ iz 'aving recipes," Mimi replied innocently. "Mimi iz pleasing?"

"Very much. _Merci_ , Mimi," Moony said. He glanced to Harry and Neville. "That is, if you boys are."

Harry and Neville nodded enthusiastically. But Harry looked over at the pile of presents in the corner. He gave an impatient squirm. There was a very conspicuously wrapped present. "But..."

Frank stroked his chin. "Hmm... Is there something we've forgotten to do?"

Padfoot scoffed. "Don't be silly, Frankie. I think we should all just head to bed. After all that delicious food, I'm ready to just pass out."

" _Padfoot_ ," Harry stressed, nearly fit to burst as he looked over at the package.

"All right, all right," Moony waved his hand. "We don't want you to expire from waiting."

Noriko and Lex happily took the jobs of bringing their elder brothers their presents. They opened them one by one. Harry tried to show gratitude for all of his gifts. He was really thankful for all of them. But one large one still remained. One very long one.

Neville had just opened his final present. It was a rare plant for him to cultivate. Harry couldn't really hear Alice's explanation as to why it was so rare. He was looking at the remaining package. 

"Think that's a bit big for you to pick up, Whelp," Padfoot said to Noriko. He got up and retrieved the long package. "Go ahead, Pronglet. Open it up."

Harry ripped open the paper. Instead of the polished mahogany, he found the package was magically inflated and contained only a broomstick repair kit.

"You've been saying your Cleansweeper isn't up to snuff..." Padfoot explained. He looked around. "That was what I was supposed to get, was it?"

_Kachan_ gave him a smack on the arm. " _Baka na inu_..."

"Oh wait!" Sirius snapped his fingers. "There was something else. Why don't you go look in the back garden?"

Harry was on his feet and racing out into the back in an instant. His breath caught when he saw it. There it was. Perfect and gleaming in the dying sunlight was the Nimbus 2000. He ran to it, inspecting every inch. It was perfect.

Broom clutched in his hand, he ran back to the porch, where everyone had come out to see. Harry threw himself at Padfoot, hugging him tightly. "Thank you! This is... Oh wow!" He moved to hug and kiss _Kachan_ and then Moony.

"After you take it out, can I?" JJ asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. And you can have a turn too, Neville."

Neville scrunched up his nose. "You know I'm terrible at flying, Harry."

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Neville's face remained scrunched, but he finally nodded in agreement.

"It's getting late, boys," Alice pointed out.

"Oh, give them a break, Alice," _Grandpere_ commented. "They are young and they are excited."

_Grandmere_ nodded. "Mm. Our chess set was put to shame."

"Fine," Alice sighed. "Not too high and only two hours. It should stay light enough for you."

With joyful shrieks and laughs, Harry and his siblings ran into the back garden. JJ, Noriko and the Longbottoms retrieved brooms while Harry reverently touched his new gift.

Once they were back, Harry mounted the broom. It was so comfortable. With a shout of triumph, he took off into the air.

* * *

Noriko let out a happy shriek as Harry was squirted in the face by the foul Gobstone liquid. Harry grumbled, wiping his face on his sleeve. "You're getting too good at playing this." 

"I win again!" Noriko crowed. She blew a raspberry at her elder brother.

"Noriko, don't be rude," Padfoot admonished her as with a flourish he finished the crossword. He pushed his hair off of his face as he got to his feet. "Time for you kids to get to bed anyway."

"Oh, come on, Dad!" JJ complained from his spot on the floor. He was lying on floor on his belly, watching the telly. "It's Harry's birthday!"

"But it's still time for bed," Padfoot pointed out. "We let you guys stay up for the party, but you need to get to sleep. Neville and Lex have already collapsed. As have Nico and Nelle. You three are just being intransigent now."

"What's that?" Noriko asked.

Padfoot leaned over his daughter, grabbing her by the waist and hauling her up. He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. "It means you're being bratty little pups who don't listen to their dad." He set her back on her feet. "Now come on."

"You all still have lessons tomorrow!" _Kachan_ called from the kitchen. She'd had a devil of a time convincing Mimi to take a rest, taking cleaning duties herself.

"But it'll be my birthday tomorrow," Harry groused.

"And we celebrated today," it was Moony who called from the kitchen now.

"Come on, you know I don't like to be the hea--" Padfoot stopped talking abruptly, his head snapping towards the front door. He looked very much like the dog he oft turned into.

BOOM!

The door shook on its hinges.

Padfoot's wand was out in an instant. "Get behind me!" He shouted.

Harry grabbed up Noriko, shielding her with his body as he got behind his Godfather. His heart was pounding in his chest. Was this it? Had they finally found him? Had whomever destroyed _Grandpere's_ house now come here? 

The door flew off its hinges and landed with a deafening crash. The man-- at least, Harry thought it was a man-- took up the entire doorway. His long, shaggy hair and beard obscured nearly his whole face. Beetle black eyes narrowed on Padfoot. "What'n the hell is wrong wit' yeh, Sirius Black?"


	4. Chapter 4

Padfoot's shoulders sank down a bit as he lowered his wand and he cocked his head. Harry's heart began to pound harder when he saw Padfoot's wand lower. What was he doing? Someone had just broken into their house! A very big, scary looking someone! This was no time for Padfoot to lower his wand.

"Hagrid?" Padfoot questioned. Harry's eyes widened. Padfoot _knew_ this gigantic man. "What the hell am I doing? What the hell are _you_ doing? You took my door off! The cat is going to get out now!"

Even if Padfoot did know this man, lowering his wand seemed to be the last thing he should do. The beast of a man-- Hagrid-- grabbed Padfoot by the throat and pulled him away, pressing up against the wall.

JJ yelled, surging forward. Harry held out an arm to keep him back. Noriko screamed and buried herself deeper into Harry's chest. With his free arm, he wrapped it tightly around her.

Hagrid kept Padfoot pinned to the wall, leaning in close. His voice was coming out a low growl. "First yeh take 'em."

"You... Gave him... To me..." Padfoot gasped.

Hagrid growled. "...and drag 'em halfway 'round the world an' now yer not lettin' him go ter Hogwarts? Are yeh mad?" 

Padfoot struggled against the huge man. He seemed to be trying to speak, but could only gasp for breath. Padfoot was a good fighter. Harry had seen him duelling with Frank, Alice and _Kachan_. But this man was twice Padfoot's size and had him pinned. Would he just choke the life out of Padfoot, in front of his own children?

Hagrid seemed to realize what he was doing and lowered Padfoot to the ground. Or rather, he tossed Padfoot as if he were no more than a ragdoll. He hit the opposite wall with a grunt before hitting the ground in a slightly twitching heap.

Noriko gave another cry and Harry held her closer. He wanted to run to Padfoot, to make sure he was all right, but he knew what was important was making sure Noriko and JJ were safe. Could he get them out of the room? Could he get around this Hagrid?

Harry heard the faint popping noise, but he wasn't sure if the hulking man had. _Kachan_ had apparated behind the man in a crouch. The man was a mountain compared to _Kachan_ , but she had the element of surprise. Not to mention the long weapon in her hand. It was called a _Naginata_. Harry had seen her practicing with it and he longed for the day when he would get the chance to use it himself. He had never seen it against a real enemy, but he knew it was dangerous-- dragon's blood was laced through the blade, with dragon heartstring made up the core of the pole. 

_Kachan_ swept the pole beneath Hagrid's feet, knocking him down with a thunderous crash. The enormous man looked like a pile of rags and hair as he struggled to get up, but Kachan rose up. Even flat on his back he seemed nearly as tall as _Kachan_ , but she was undeterred, pointing the weapon at him blade first. " _Incarcerous!"_

Ropes appeared in the air, binding the now prone man. _Kachan_ jabbed the weapon at the man, the blade just an inch from his ruddy coloured nose. "It's not wise to break into the house of former Aurors, Hagrid. Especially one who knows your weaknesses."

But _Kachan_ 's eyes widened with horror as the man struggled with his bonds. They were quickly fraying under his massive strength.

"Yuki! Hagrid!" Moony was panting as he leaned heavily in the doorway. He looked exhausted, still weakened from the moon. His skin was sickly pale and his hand trembled slightly. But he moved, undeterred, to kneel beside Padfoot. He placed a hand on Padfoot's shoulder. "Are you all right, Padfoot?"

Padfoot raised his head, letting out a rasping cough. "Yeah."

Now, Moony turned his attention to _Kachan._ "What on _Earth_ are you doing, Yuki?"

"Ask him!" _Kachan_ hissed, jabbing the blade towards Hagrid. "You see what he did to Sirius!"

Finally, Harry couldn't bear it any longer. He pulled Noriko closer to him. He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. "Everyone stop it!" Harry cried. He looked over the chaos, at his fallen godfather and the hulking intruder struggling with his bonds. "What is going on?"

"Just what I want to know," Moony said calmly. He took a deep breath, gesturing to _Kachan_. "Yuki, let him go. Hagrid, when she does, don't _do_ anything."

"But--" _Kachan_ protested. There was a slight whine to her voice.

"Yuki Maeda-Black, we do not tie up our allies and threaten them with swords," Remus admonished her. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Neither do we choke the life out of them in their own home in front of their children, Hagrid."

_Kachan's_ expression was still fierce. "But--"

" _Now_." The last time Harry had heard Moony's voice so serious was when Harry had let Noriko borrow his broom and she had broken her arm.

_Kachan_ looked uncertain, but moved her _naginata_ away, producing her wand from her robes. She waved it and the fraying ropes dissolved into nothingness. The beast-like man sat up, beetle black eyes glaring at her. She arched a brow and kept her wand up warningly.

Moony's attention was on Padfoot again, kneeling by his side. "Sirius, are you really all right or are you just doing your macho posturing?" 

Padfoot groaned before finally sitting up. He rubbed his throat, which was angry and red from the grip on him. "Considering..." He coughed again. "Considering this is the first time I've seen Hagrid since I took Harry, I probably got off light. Aberforth thought he might rip off my arms."

"Oh, there's an idea," Hagrid growled.

"Hagrid..." _Kachan_ hissed, raising her _naginata_ again.

Padfoot struggled to his feet. "It's been ten years. I can't believe you're still cross about that." 

"Yeh can't believe--" Hagrid got up, towering over Padfoot. He stalked towards him, teeth bared. "I trusted yeh and yeh stole him! Yeh took him around the soddin' world hidin' from _Dumbledore_ of all people..."

Now Padfoot looked furious, pulling himself up taller, although he was still dwarfed by Hagrid. He let out low, dog-like growl. "Do you even know where he planned to put Harry? Do you really think that would've been _better_?"

Moony raised his wand above his head and it made a noise like a gunshot. " _STOP IT_ ," he bellowed, his voice harsh and rasping. "There are children here! And clearly things need to be talked about. Which we're going to do. Like civilized adults. JJ, take your sister to bed."

Harry could feel JJ tense, his hands balled into fists. "But Moony..."

"James John Black, you do as Remus says." There was such a sharp and serious tone to Padfoot's voice a shiver went up Harry's spine. Harry wasn't sure if he'd _ever_ heard Padfoot call JJ by his full name. Padfoot softened quickly, taking a breath. "We need to talk to Harry."

Noriko let out a small whine, clinging tighter to Harry while peeking up at the gigantic intruder. Harry reluctantly pried her off of him. He gave her a weak smile, hoping to reassure her. " _Daijoubu, Norichan._ " He wasn't sure if he was lying about his wellbeing, but the best thing was for Noriko and JJ to get as far away as possible. 

JJ took Noriko's hand and gave Harry a wary look. "I'll tell you all about it," Harry whispered to him. JJ gave him a reassuring pat on the arm before leaving the room, sure to give Hagrid a wide berth.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest, uncertain how he was supposed to stand. He puffed up his chest and raised his shoulders, thinking looking as large as possible was probably best. "So what's this all about then?" Now that he wasn't focused on protecting Noriko, he realized just how hard his heart was pounding.

"Yeh've been keepin' his letters from 'im," Hagrid said, glaring daggers at Padfoot. He shoved a broad finger into Padfoot's chest, which made him jolt backwards with each jab. He then turned and pointed that finger at Harry. "He should know 'xactly what 'm talkin' about."

Rubbing his chest, Padfoot opened his mouth to speak. But Harry beat him to it. He pulled himself up straight, ignoring the blood thundering in his ears. "No, I got my letters. I just haven't opened them yet." He took a deep breath, feeling emboldened now. He was angry. He was angry with this man who had come into his house, who had tried to hurt his father.

"Harry knows what's in the letters, Hagrid," Moony explained calmly, raising a hand in what he probably hoped was a calming gesture. It didn't seem to be working much, as Hagrid looked as angry as ever. Moony gave Hagrid a small smile. "We've told him everything." 

Hagrid's eyes narrowed as he pulled a pink umbrella from his tattered moleskin coat and held it up. "Everythin'?"

" _Everything_ ," Harry repeated, taking a step forward. _Kachan_ winced as he moved closer to Hagrid. "I know Padfoot took me when I was a baby. I didn't know he took me from you... But I don't actually know _who_ you are. But I'm guessing you work for Dumbledore. He's the man who kept us on the run for years."

"He weren't supposed to have you!" Hagrid pointed the umbrella at Padfoot, who now had his wand out again and was sure to keep it up.

Harry shook his head. "No, he was supposed to have me. But Dumbledore didn't like that. And I know that Death Eaters tried to kill us, so we went running _again_. And I know that--"

"Harry!" Padfoot said firmly. Still keeping his wand up, he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "That's enough."

Maybe Hagrid didn't know about the prophecy. At Padfoot's touch, he calmed down a bit. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I know everything. I know I was better off here than I would've been with a bunch of Muggles who hated the Potters!"

"The Potters?" Hagrid repeated. He stepped towards Padfoot threateningly. Padfoot jerked, shoving Harry behind him and bringing up his wand. 

Hagrid's umbrella was poised over Padfoot's heart. "He calls James and Lily _The Potters_? They're his _real_ parents!"

Padfoot's wand was up, in Hagrid's face. _Kachan's_ was on his back. Moony was stepping forward to break up the melee. Harry couldn't contain it. Those words made his blood boil. He pushed past Padfoot, getting between him and the man's umbrella. His hands were balled into tight fists. He stared up at this beast of a man unflinchingly. "Padfoot, _Kachan_ and Moony have raised me for ten years! What's not real about that?"

Hagrid staggered back, shocked at this development. He lowered his umbrella, his expression softening. "Now yeh listen to me, Harry Potter--"

Harry didn't waver. He kept his gaze locked on Hagrid. "My name is Harry Black."

Everyone stared at Harry, mouths slightly agape in shock. Harry turned to look at the man behind him. Padfoot's expression wasn't one of shock. It was of deep pain. Harry's fists finally relaxed and he touched Padfoot's arm. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen, Padfoot. I know you always wanted me to remember my parents..." He shook his head sadly. "But I was a baby. I can't. I'm sorry. And you're my dad now, because James wanted you to be if he couldn't."

Padfoot's wand was down and his arms were wrapped tightly around Harry, pulling him into a fierce hug. He bowed his head, pressing his face into Harry's hair. "I never wanted to replace James." His voice was thick with tears.

"He wanted you to take care of me and you have," Harry insisted, his voice slightly muffled by Padfoot's shoulder. "You're the best."

Reluctantly, Harry pulled himself away from Padfoot. He turned his attention back to Hagrid. The once fearsome looking man now looked dwarfed in shame. "You broke into my house. You hurt my Dad. You scared my sister."

"'m _sorry_ , Harry," Hagrid said, voice low and soft. "Dumbledore were worried when ye didn't open any of yer letters. He thought they might be keepin' 'em from yeh."

Harry shook his head. "No. It was my choice not to look at them. I wasn't sure I wanted to go to Hogwarts."

"Why not?" Hagrid asked, cocking his head. "Ain't no better school t' train up at. Yeh may love yer family, but they can't train yeh in _everything_."

Harry glanced back at Padfoot. There were still tears in his grey eyes. He then looked to Moony, who was appraising him with pride. _Kachan_ looked like she was desperate to grab him in a motherly hug, but was restraining herself. "The last time we were in England, Neville's grandmother _died_. Because of _me_. I didn't want that to happen again."

Padfoot finally stepped forward, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You don't have to go..." 

Harry shook his head, looking up at Padfoot. "No, I think I do." He took a hold of Padfoot's hand and gave it a squeeze. "You guys all want me to go. You all went. You've been talking about Hogwarts for as long as I can remember. I know it's the best school in the world. If... If something's going to happen to me, I want to be ready for that. I can't think of anywhere better." He sighed. "And... I have to understand. What happened to me. I'm never going to get the answer here."

There was the clattering of _Kachan_ dropping her _Naginata_. She rushed forward, pulling Harry into a hug. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Are you absolutely sure, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I am. You've all been running for so long, all to protect me. But it's time to stop running."

_Kachan_ leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, my Harry..."

Padfoot now threw his arms around Harry, hugging him and _Kachan_. He ruffled Harry's permanently dishevelled hair. "We're proud of you, Pronglet."

Moony beamed at them before turning his attention to Hagrid. "Well. That should satisfy the Headmaster. You can tell him Harry will be attending Hogwarts this year. As well Neville Longbottom..." He arched a brow in question as he looked back to Harry. "At least, I think Neville will insist on attending with you."

Harry smiled back at Moony, nodding. "Yeah."

Padfoot sighed and pulled away from Harry. "That reminds me..." He strode past Hagrid and went to the bottom of the stairs. "Frankie?"

There was a loud roar in response. 

"It's all right!" Padfoot called up. "We can go off alert now."

"Are you sure?" Frank's voice filtered downstairs now.

"Positive. We're heading back to England."

There was the sound of footsteps and Padfoot came back into the room with Frank. "England? We're going home?"

"Evidently," Moony replied lightly, nodding. "You and Neville talked about it, or should we fetch him?"

Harry shook his head. "No. We talked about it. We're sticking together."

Padfoot gave him a shot in the shoulder. "Sticking together with your mates." He grinned at Moony. "That's the only way to get through Hogwarts."

Hagrid shifted awkwardly, which was even more difficult for him due to his massive size. He averted his gaze from Harry. "Glad yer comin' ter Hogwarts, Harry." 

Now that it was calm, Hagrid didn't seem at all terrifying. Yes, he was huge, but his face was friendly and he seemed truly ashamed. He gestured to the door, which was still off its hinges. "I'll see meself out. Sorry 'bout the door."

Hagrid shuffled towards the doorway, stepping out of it. He picked up the door, trying to get it back into place. With a sigh, Moony followed him, waving his wand to repair the damage.

Harry thought about everything that had happened in the past half an hour. He licked his lips before breaking free of _Kachan_ and running towards the door.

"Harry!" Padfoot called after him.

"It's all right!" Harry called back. "I just need a minute!" He turned back. "Someone's got to get Eris."

Harry opened the repaired door. He ran after the retreating figure. " _Ano_... Mister Hagrid?" He called out.

Hagrid stopped and turned back to Harry. He frowned and walked back. "What're yeh doin'?"

Harry shifted awkwardly. What _was_ he doing? "You said you gave me to Pad-- Sirius."

Hagrid nodded solemnly. "Yeah. I.. Well, I were the one who pulled yeh out of yer parents house... James and Lily's house... The night they... Well, the night they..."

Harry nodded slowly. "The night they died."

Hagrid shuddered, as if the words were a horrible curse. "I gave yeh t'Sirius t'bring t'Hogwarts, but he took off on his own. Were confusing times, Harry. When he took off, didn' know what he'd do t'ya. Guess I always blamed meself fer lettin' ya go with him. That's why I did what I did."

"Thank you, Mister Hagrid," Harry said firmly.

Hagrid jerked back, black eyes widening in shock.

"Giving me to Sirius was the best thing you could do," Harry explained. "If you'd given me to Dumbledore, I would've gone to my aunt and uncle. Because of you, I have my family."

"Oh... Well..." Hagrid looked down, his cheeks going very red even in the dark light of night. He dug into his coat. "Nearly forgot. Brough yeh something." He slipped a small white box out of his pocket and held it out to Harry.

Harry accepted it and opened up the box. Inside was a small, sticky chocolate cake with green letters that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY.

He smiled gratefully, closing the lid. "Thank you..." He paused. "What do you do for Dumbledore exactly?" Was he some sort of bodyguard?

"Right." Hagrid nodded. "I haven't introduced meself." He held out a large hand. "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Ground at Hogwarts."

Harry accepted the large hand, feeling his whole body jerk as Hagrid shook his hand.

"Gotta go now," Hagrid said. "Gotta get yer answer t' Dumbledore and I've lots t' do."

Harry pulled back and turned to go back towards the house. He knelt down, calling a few times for Eris. Sure enough, the black cat darted out from under the porch and rubbed herself against Harry's leg. He picked her up in his free hand and gave one final look to the curious man who'd burst into his life before he went back inside.

Padfoot and Moony were waiting for him when he got inside. He figured _Kachan_ had probably gone to take care of JJ and Noriko. "What was that?" Padfoot asked.

"Got a cake." Harry held up the box in his hand. He smiled at his godfather. "So. You ticked him off right good."

Padfoot shrugged. "I have that effect on people."

Harry looked around the front foyer. "We're just going to pack up and head back to England? Just like that? Because I said so?"

"Because you're right." Moony placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's time to stop running."


	5. Chapter 5

Harry was impressed with how quickly his family managed to pack all of their belongings and move from Zephyr back to England. Padfoot had joked that it was because they'd spent so much time on the run when Harry was younger. At least, Harry thought it was supposed to be a joke. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Padfoot.

But they'd manage to cram everything into Padfoot's Aston Martin and his motorbike. Padfoot has cursed that he'd sold the Impala he'd been working on for the last few years to a wizard in New York, as they could've used a bit more room. But as it was, it was fine. The inside had been magically enhanced that it could house everyone comfortably. The flying and invisibility charms held up for the entire trip. 

_Grandpere, Grandmere_ and Mimi had stayed behind in Canada. They'd been cagey with Harry about the reason they did not want to come with them to England. He suspected it had something to do with their abrupt arrival. Padfoot had invited them to stay as long as they wanted, as _Grandpere_ and _Grandmere_ had once done for their family.

The house they arrived at in England was in a place called Woodsview. Padfoot had said they lived there when Harry was young, but he didn't have any memories of that. But he did remember the toy he'd found under the toddler bed in what had been his old bedroom-- and was his bedroom once again.

Besides a long forgotten toy, something else had waited for Harry in his new-old bedroom. A beautiful snowy owl had been perched on the headboard of his old toddler bed. The bird dropped a letter at Harry's feet. It explained that the owl was a birthday present from Hagrid. He wanted Harry to be able to write to his family while he was at school. Harry wondered if Hagrid didn't still feel guilty about throttling Padfoot in front of him. He appreciated the sentiment. Moony's Augurey Poe was capable of ferrying post, but it wasn't the most efficient. They'd always relied on post owls, as Frank had thought it was better for security.

The owl-- who was still nameless-- hooted from her perch in the window. Harry was sitting on the floor in his room, surrounded by boxes yet to be unpacked. He looked over the letter he had received from Hogwarts. He glanced up at the sound of someone entering the room. He waved his letter around. "Can you believe this? I get the best racing broom in the world and I'm not allowed to bring it to Hogwarts!"

Neville laughed, easing himself down on the floor next to Harry. "Thinking about not going now?"

"Naw." Harry shook his head, stretching out. "I'll smuggle it in if I have to." 

"You think you're so clever," Neville shook his head, still laughing.

"That would be because I am," Harry retorted. He glanced towards the door, humming softly. "So. Are they still talking?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah. Told Jay and Lex off good when they tried to eavesdrop." He grinned at Harry. "but you can calm your ego. For once, it's _not_ about you."

Harry arched a brow. "And how do you know that?"

Neville smirked. "Because they _didn't_ tell me off for eavesdropping, since they didn't catch me."

Harry shook his head. "You think you're so clever."

"That would be because I am."

* * *

 

"Are you guys sure about this?" Remus asked, frowning slightly as he leaned back in his chair.

Alice gave a small shrug. "We're not sure. I mean we stayed together because we were off in hiding. Strength in numbers and all..."

Sirius nodded, wrapping his arms around Yuki's waist and sighing. "But now we're in England, so you're thinking of going back to Lancaster."

"It's just something we're considering." Frank took a hold of Alice's hand, squeezing it tightly. "This is your house. We don't want to cramp it. But... The kids have also been together for so long. Lex is already going to go through enough changes with the move and Neville and Harry going to school."

"You know we wouldn't offer for you to stay if there wasn't space," Yuki assured them, leaning against Sirius. "This mutt here was never one to do things small--" she gave her husband a light shot in the shoulder. "There are plenty of rooms here for you guys. But if you feel you _want_ to go back to Lancaster..."

"I really don't know," Frank sighed. "Mum's gone and Algie is still off who-knows-where with your Mum, Sirius. So all my family is gone. Same with Ali's. And the last time we were at the house..."

Sirius nodded. He gripped Yuki just a bit tighter. He knew what Frank wasn't saying. It was why they had returned to Woodsview rather than Cherry Estate. They had only left Woodsview because Rita Skeeter was becoming close to discovering they had Harry. The memories of Cherry Estate were soured by the night the Death Eaters had attacked. Sirius admitted he still had nightmares of that night taking a darker turn.

"Of course, it might be better security for all of us if we stick together," Remus pointed out, steepling his fingers beneath his chin thoughtfully. "With Harry and Neville going to school, people are going to find out about us, including our enemies. Pooling our resources to protect ourselves might be the best course of action."

"That does bring up another point..." Alice took a deep breath and looked to Frank. He gave a small nod. She then smiled. "Well... Frank and I have applied to work in the Auror office again."

"Really?" Sirius blinked in shock.

Frank nodded. "The Ministry is a bit short handed right now. Alastor's retired from active duty. He's working with the new recruits."

Alice shook her head. "That's not to mention Barty Junior's got no clue how to run the department. He might've been all right while things have been quiet, but we know trouble it going to come. At least if we're in the department, there might be a chance of cleaning up a little bit."

Remus smiled, nodding. "I feel more secure already. You two are going to have to be careful though."

"Always," Frank said with a nod.

Yuki crinkled her nose as she smiled. "If you need any weaponry, tell me. I'll drop everything else in a heartbeat."

"Wouldn't trust anyone else," Alice laughed. She looked to Sirius, then Remus. "If you guys don't mind having us around..."

Sirius nodded. "Marauders stick together. And you two are definitely Marauders now."

* * *

 

Harry frowned as he examined the piano now set up in the library closely. It had gotten out of tune in the trip from Canada.

Noriko clutched her violin tightly. " _Hayaku, hayaku_." 

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Harry shook his head. He prodded the piano with Padfoot's wand, liberated while he worked on his crossword. He grinned when the piano adjusted itself and he tested the keys. The sound that came out was perfect. 

He sat down at the piano bench, warming up with a few scales. He'd been playing for a few years now, since they had lived in France. Alice, Frank and Padfoot all played instruments. They'd explained it was a very traditional thing for pureblood families to teach their children. Alice taught both Harry and Lex piano, while Frank taught Neville the cello. Padfoot hadn't much cared for his upbringing, but he'd agreed it was a good idea for them to have well-rounded educations. Besides, Noriko had liked learning violin from him. Harry knew Padfoot greatly preferred teaching guitar to JJ. 

Piano didn't come as naturally to Harry as Quidditch or _Mahō Budō_ , but he still enjoyed doing it. In some ways, he related it to his martial arts practice: it took extreme concentration and calm to be able to remember what he was supposed to do.

Noriko brought up her violin, getting it into position. She brought her bow up and began to play. Harry joined in along with her, his fingers quickly moving over the keys. 

He wondered if he'd be able to play at Hogwarts. If purebloods were taught to play instruments, it made sense that they be allowed to keep it up at school. As he played, he glanced to Noriko. Her eyes were closed in concentration, her lower lip drawn up between her teeth as she changed the position of her fingers. 

Noriko would be staying here. She wouldn't be attending Hogwarts until his fourth year. He already felt an ache in his chest at the idea of leaving his family behind to go to school.

But they had all done it. He would be able to come home on break to see them all.

Noriko's playing drifted off and she opened her eyes. "Why'd you stop?"

Harry blinked. "Huh?" He looked down at his hands, realizing he'd stopped playing. "Sorry. My mind drifted."

Noriko set her violin down in its case and leaned over the piano. "You're thinking about school?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

Noriko frowned deeply. "Are you scared of that big man?" 

"Hagrid?" Harry shook his head. Of course, Noriko had only seen him when he was terrifying, not after he'd been shamed by Harry's harsh words. "He's not all that scary." 

"He hurt Daddy," Noriko replied tartly, mouth set in a pout. 

"I know," Harry sighed. "It's complicated. But I don't think he's anything to worry about." 

"When are you going?" Noriko sat on the piano bench next to Harry, placing her head on his shoulder.

"A few weeks," Harry replied. "September 1st. Padfoot is taking me to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get my school stuff. Neville's already got his." Padfoot had said something about it being a 'bonding experience', to just have it be the two of them. But Harry suspected Padfoot wanted to move as discreetly as possible through Diagon Alley. Discretion had always been a big thing in their family.

Noriko made a soft little whimpering noise. "It's not gonna be the same. You going to school." 

"I know." Harry slung an arm over his sister's shoulder, giving her a light squeeze. "I'm going to miss you guys too. But soon enough, Jay and Lex and you will be coming to Hogwarts too."

"Not for _years_ ," Noriko whined. 

Harry smiled down at her. "And you're still going to be smarter than me when you get there. Now come on, are we going to practice or what?"

* * *

 

Going to London with Padfoot was an exciting prospect for Harry. Not only did it mean he got to pick up his wizarding supplies, he also got to travel in Padfoot's motorbike. Usually if he was going anywhere, he was with the rest of the family and they relied on Padfoot's car. It was a treat to be able to ride in the sidecar of the gigantic motorbike, which roared through the air, invisible to Muggles. 

Once they got closer to the city-- and thus could be noticed-- Padfoot brought it to the ground. Just racing on the street was exciting enough! They weaved between the traffic, slipping between cars easily.

Padfoot parked the bike on a busy Muggle London street. He gave Harry an easy-going grin. "The last time I was here with you, Noriko was strapped to my chest and you and JJ were running around like mad doxies." 

Harry hid his face in his hand, feeling the heat in his cheeks. "Did we get into a lot of trouble?" 

Padfoot barked out a laugh. "You, no... It was me! I nearly got into a duel with Snivellus!"

Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. "Snivellus?"

"Severus Snape, little toerag Slytherin that was same year as us. Up to his eyeballs in the dark arts back in school." Padfoot's lip curled and he growled. "He's Potion's Master at Hogwarts now."

Harry's steps faltered. "He was into the dark arts and now he's a professor? But..."

Padfoot shrugged. "I don't know, Harry. Dumbledore trusts him. Has for years. He was the one Dumbledore actually sent out looking for us when we were on the run. Never heard anything about him being a Death Eater, but... If there's anyone I would've thought was..." He shook his head, as if to physically rid himself of the thought. He pointed to a building up ahead. "Come on. Leaky Cauldron."

Padfoot opened the door, escorting Harry inside. It was a dingy little pub, dark and shabby. An assortment of witches and wizards sat at the tables, drinking and smoking. No one seemed to notice them as they entered.

That was, except for the barman. He looked up at the new arrivals. "Bless my soul... Is that Sirius Black?"

Padfoot smiled bashfully and ruffled his hair. "Surprised you remembered. Been a while, Tom."

"Years," Tom replied. "Where you been keeping yourself?" 

"Been abroad," Padfoot explain. He put a protective arm around Harry. "Bringing my son for school supplies."

The barman's eyes slid to Harry. Specifically, his gaze went to the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Harry's hand immediately slipped up to try to flatten his fringe. 

"Your son?" Tom repeated. "Blimey, Sirius... That's Harry Potter!"

The light chatter of the pub immediately ceased and all eyes turned to Harry. He gulped and pressed in closer to Padfoot. "It's Harry Black actually," Harry muttered feebly.

Suddenly, there was a deluge of people descending onto them, each one of them grabbing Harry's hand, shaking it vigorously.

"Welcome back, Mister Potter..."

Harry forced himself to smile. "It's Black." 

"Can't believe I'm meeting you at last...." 

Padfoot growled, trying to push people back. "All right, all right... Come on, I'm just trying to get my boy his school things! He's just a kid!"

As more people pressed in, Harry began to feel more and more overwhelmed. He saw Padfoot pull out his wand. Oh, that would be a good way to go into wizarding London, if Padfoot hexed an entire pub. Harry looked around, plotting his escape.

Before the next well-wisher could grab his hand, he placed his hands on the shoulders of two of the throng and pressed down. He used the leverage to pull himself up, stepping on their shoulders and launching himself over the crowd. He landed in a roll and raced to the back door.

"Harry!" Padfoot yelled after him. 

Harry panted for air, giving Padfoot a weak smile. "You coming, Padfoot?"

Padfoot none-too-gently pushed passed the crowd, running to Harry. Harry beamed up at Padfoot. "Thought this would be quicker."

There was no mistaking the look of pride of Padfoot's face as he clasped Harry's shoulder. "How'd you do that?"

" _Kachan_."

Padfoot shook his head. "I've learned a lot of the same stuff. I can't do that."

Harry shrugged. "Well, I'm better than you are."

Padfoot huffed out an annoyed breath, disturbing a lock of hair that had fallen in front of his face during the tussle. "Think it's because you and her are about the same size..." He let out a laugh as he led Harry into a small, walled courtyard.

"I'm still growing!" Harry protested in jest. He watched as Padfoot began to tap his wand against the back wall. "Ummm... Padfoot? Can I ask you a question?" 

Padfoot glanced down at him. His expression was grave. "Yes, Harry." He nodded slowly. "A lot of people are going to have that kind of reaction to you. It wasn't too bad in Canada, but here... Everyone knows your name."

"It's not my name," Harry replied. "All those people want to shake my hand just because I randomly didn't die when I should have. I didn't do anything. It just... Happened."

"I know," Padfoot sighed. He tapped a brick thrice, putting his hand in front of Harry's chest, pushing him back a bit. "Stand back, Pronglet."

The final brick Padfoot had tapped quivered, wriggled and hole appeared, growing wider by the second. It expanded out into an archway, leading out onto a cobbled street. 

Padfoot gave Harry a smile. "You ready to head out there?"

Harry gave a nod. "Yeah. I think so."

"Try not to flip over any throngs of people," Padfoot teased. 

Harry grinned back at him. "Only if you try not to hex anyone for getting too close to me."

* * *

 

Harry and Padfoot stood outside Gringott's bank while Padfoot looked over the letter Harry had received from Hogwarts. There were glittering chains on the door of the bank and a sign that read CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

"Strange that," Padfoot glanced to the sign. "Don't know Gringott's to close for anything. Luckily, I've got enough dosh to take care of everything.... Let's see _three sets plain black work robes, plain black pointed hat, one black winter cloak_... We'll get that on the way back, stop by and see Dora. That's where her flat is... Note all pupil's clothes should carry name tags. We'll get Moony to sew tags into your pants. Always comes in handy. Back when I was in school sometimes that's the only way I remembered which girls I'd..." He trailed off, looking to Harry, grimacing. "You know, that's not an appropriate story." 

Harry smirked. "I'm telling _Kachan_."

"They were usually hers," Padfoot muttered. He clapped Harry on the shoulder. "You know, we should start with the most exciting first. Your wand. Come on." He pulled Harry along with him down the cobbled street. They wove through the crowds of wizards. Harry had never seen so many wizards in tight concentration, save for the World Cup. They'd always shied away from going into wizard neighborhoods, just in case anyone recognized him. He felt incredibly self-conscious and on edge, not sure when someone would suddenly recognize him.

They stopped in front of a narrow and shabby shop at the end of the road. Peeling gold letters on the door read _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC._

A tinkling bell rang as they entered the shop. The walls were lined with narrow boxes, going all of the way up to the ceiling. Harry knew each one of those boxes contained a wand. One of them would become his. Other than the multitude of boxes, there was a single spindly chair.

"Good afternoon," a soft voice came from seemingly nowhere. An old man stepped out from behind a pile of boxes. His wide, pale eyes seemed to stare right through Harry.

"Hello," Harry replied, raising his chin and holding out his hand. "I'm Harry Black." Better to introduce himself rather than wait for another awkward moment. 

"Black... Yes. Of course. I thought I'd be seeing you soon." He shook Harry's hand delicately before his silvery gaze shifted to Padfoot. "And the elder Mister Black. Twelve and a half inches, Dogwood, Dragon Heartstring Core, if I remember correctly."

Padfoot pushed aside his outer robe, revealing the wand holstered to his belt next to his _tantō_. "Yes, sir. It's served me well." 

Mister Ollivander grimaced at the sight of the _tantō_. "You don't use _that_ for spellcasting, do you?"

Padfoot shrugged. "Sometimes I have occasion. Don't care for them?" 

Mister Ollivander waved his hand dismissively. "There's always a flashiness about swords and knives, but they lack the elegance and dignity of a wand. One of Kenji Maeda's, yes? His work _was_ a brief fad when you were young." His voice dripped with contempt. 

Padfoot shook his head. "This is actually the work of Kenji's daughter, Yuki." 

Mister Ollivander chuckled. "Shouldn't surprise me she went into that business. Had a beautiful wand though: ten inches, cherry wood, dragon heartstring. Lovely piece. I hope she's not destroyed it."

"She's my wife," Padfoot laughed. "It's in one piece."

Harry shook his head. "Do you remember every wand you sell?" 

Mister Ollivander cocked his head. "I have a special connection with each and every wand I craft. Then those wands form a special connection with the wizard they choose." 

Harry gave him a disbelieving look. "So you even remember Remus Lupin?"

Mister Ollivander paused. "Well, that is a _curious_ name to bring up. I especially remember that one. Had to make his special. I use three cores: phoenix feather, dragon heartstring and unicorn hair. Not a single one of those worked for him. He needed something... Let's just say a unique wand for very _unique_ circumstances."

Padfoot placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You know about Remus'... unique circumstances?"

"I'm but a humble wandmaker, Mister Black," Mister Ollivander said with a smile. "All I know is young Mister Lupin came to my shop and tried every wand without a match... Then a week later, after the full moon, he returned with a hair from a werewolf... And I was able to craft him a wand that worked _perfectly_." His gaze slid to Harry. "Willow. Ten and three-quarter inches... Since you asked." He waved his hand. "But enough about that. This is about you, Mister P-- Black."

He pulled a measuring tape with silver markings out of his pocket. "Hold out your wand arm."

Harry obligingly held out his right arm while Mister Ollivander began to take measurements. "It's important to get right. No two wands are alike and you'll never get as good a result with another wizard's wand."

Padfoot sauntered over to the spindly chair, throwing himself into it in a sprawl. "Unless you win it in a duel, right, Ollivander?"

Mister Ollivander looked up from his work measuring Harry's arm. "You mock wandlore, but that alchemic monstrosity on your hip is even more likely to switch allegiances due to a stronger wizard."

"Alchemic monstrosity? I'll tell Yuki what you think of her work." Padfoot rolled his eyes. "Just give him a wand to wave. It's all going to come down to what feels right, regardless of size."

Mister Ollivander glared at Padfoot, but he dropped the measuring tape. He pulled out a box. "Try this one. Beechwood and Dragon Heartstring.  Nine inches. Nice and flexible."

Harry waved it, but nothing happened. Ollivander snatched it away quickly, replacing it. They repeated the process, over and over. Harry was starting to become frustrated, while Ollivander seemed to be very happy with the time it was taking. He gave Harry a sly smile. "I don't need to get a werewolf hair from you, do I, Mister Black?"

Harry shook his head.

"Not to worry, we’ll find the perfect match here somewhere... I wonder, now... Yes, why not – unusual combination – holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple..." He held out the wand to Harry.

Harry took hold of the wand. His fingers felt warm and it spread through his arm. He raised the wand above his head, bringing it down and producing a stream of red and gold like fireworks.

"Curious... Curious..."

"Sorry." Harry frowned, looking down at the wand. "But _what's_ curious?"

"I told you, Mister Black... I remember every wand I've ever sold. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar."

Padfoot was on his feet, hands on Harry's shoulders. "We should be going." He dug into his pockets, producing some galleons, thrusting them at Ollivander. "Thanks."

He directed Harry out the door before Harry could say a thing.

Harry stared at his wand in shock. He wanted to be happy about getting his own wand, but he felt this gnawing sickness inside at the knowledge it shared a core with Voldemort's.

Yet this wand felt _right_.

"It's your wand, Harry," Padfoot assured him. "It doesn't matter. So what if it's got a bad brother? I know a lot about bad brothers. Don't you worry about it for a minute."

* * *

 

After the excitement of getting his wand, picking up books, supplies and robes was incredibly boring. But soon enough, they were in front of Dora's flat door, arms full of packages. Padfoot rapped on the door, awkwardly trying not to drop anything.

Dora opened the door. Harry immediately broke out in a grin. He hadn't seen his cousin since Christmas. She was dressed casually in jeans and a Hobgoblins t-shirt, her hair a vibrant pink. She let out a joyful shriek of surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Immediately, Harry was enfolded in her arms, receiving a warm hug from her. He hugged her back.

"Sorry we haven't written," Padfoot said. "Do you mind if I put all of this down?"

"Oh!" Dora gestured for him to step inside. "Go ahead."

Padfoot stepped into the flat and set everything down. "It's a bit of a whirlwind of activity. But we've moved back."

"No kidding!" Dora cried. She threw her arms around Padfoot now. "Oh!" She pulled away and turned to Harry. "So this means..."

"Harry and Neville will be going to Hogwarts next month," Sirius affirmed. "Just been getting Harry's school supplies."

"Bloody brilliant!" Dora crowed. She pulled Harry into her flat, which was a mess of boxes and piles of books and clothing. "Sorry 'bout the mess. I've been really busy. But this... WOW!" She grabbed Harry's hand. "Oh! Wait!"

She turned towards her bedroom door. "Quirinus! Come out here!"

"Quirinus?" Padfoot repeated. "You're living with your boyfriend."

Dora gave a small shrug. "Well, he's been going back and forth between here and Hogwarts. He's been acting a bit funny the last couple of days... I think he's still recovering from his trip."

A pale young man stepped out of Dora's bedroom. He was wearing rich purple robes with a matching turban. He was shaking slightly, one eye twitching. "Is-Is everything a-a-all r-right, D-Dora? Oh..."

"Quirinus." Padfoot gave him a nod. "Nice to see you again."

"Y-Y-Yes." Quirinus nodded. 

Dora ran to Quirinus, hugging him around the waist. "You've met Sirius, of course. This is his son, Harry. He's going to Hogwarts this year."

Quirinus' eyes widened. "H-H-Harry..."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Nice to meet you, Quirinus." He waved.

Dora pressed against Quirinus. "You'll have to get used to calling him Professor Quirrell. He teaches Defence Against the Dark Art."

"Defence--" Padfoot crossed his arms over his chest. "Last time I checked, Dora fell for you when you were a Muggle Studies Professor."

"He got a promotion because of his _brilliant_ field studies." Dora was beaming with so much pride Harry thought she might just burst.

Quirinus extracted himself from Dora's embrace. "I'll l-leave you w-w-with y-your c-c-company." He gave Dora an awkward kiss on the temple, before turning to go back into the bedroom.

Harry felt a sharp pain his forehead. He winced, pushing his fringe away to press his hand to his head.

"Harry?" Padfoot asked. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Harry replied, his voice slightly laboured. "Just a headache."

"You're probably tired from all your shopping. Sit, sit." Dora pushed a pile of clothing off the sofa. "I'll make tea. Mum would thump me if she knew what a terrible hostess I was being. Of course, she already wants to thump me because--" She pointed towards the bedroom.

Padfoot nodded. "--Because you're living with your former Professor three months out of school?"

"Hush!" Dora gave him a smack on the arm, her hair briefly turning red. "Just for that, you get to help me with the tea. Harry, you sit."

Harry sat down on the sofa, while Padfoot and Dora went to the kitchen. He could hear snippets of their conversation, even though they tried to keep their voices low.

"It's just a bit strange... Keep hearing him talking to himself and he's not removed that turban in days."

"Even in bed?"

"Oh, sod off," Dora sighed. "I'm eighteen. You were younger when I caught you and Yuki in Mum's guest room. 'Oh, Yuki's just on her knees to help me with my broken zip'... Yeah right!" 

"Can't believe you remember that."

Harry was still grimacing when Dora came back with tea. "Do you need anything for your headache, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's feeling better now."

Padfoot threw himself down onto the sofa next to Harry. "We'll head home soon. It's been an exciting day. Probably just need some rest."

Harry accepted a steaming cup of tea from Dora and took a sip. "How is Auror training going?"

"Absolutely ace!" Dora cried. "It's just been a week, but still... Real exciting." She shifted a bit in her seat. "I mean, Mad-Eye's a bit of a taskmaster, but..." She looked down.

"You'll do great," Padfoot assured her. "Still early days. You've got time. It takes some getting used to."

"Enough about me," Dora said. She sat up straight, smiling broadly. "You're going to Hogwarts, Harry! Get everything you need? How's your wand?"

Harry felt his stomach churn just a bit at the mention of his wand. He was still getting used to the knowledge of its origin. He got it out, showing it to Dora.

"Wow, this is nice," Dora said, looking it over. "I've got to get mine to the repair shop. 'Fraid I've nicked it again."

Padfoot shook his head. "What you do this time?"

"I was trying to unpack everything." Dora gestured around the room. "And the edge of the table just got in the way while I was casting."

Padfoot gestured to the mess around the room. "Is that why everything is everywhere? Did it backfire?"

Dora sighed. "No... That was me."

Both Harry and Padfoot sniggered. Dora frowned at them, crossing her arms over her chest. Padfoot got up, kissing her on top of her pink hair. "Ah, we missed you, Dora."

* * *

 

Harry packed the last of his work robes into his trunk. He still wasn't leaving for Hogwarts for two weeks, but he wanted everything to be ready. He was feeling a nervous energy with each passing day. He knew he wasn't supposed to use magic outside of school until he was seventeen, but he had already practiced a few spells with his new wand. Of course, he'd borrowed Padfoot's on occasion, but it felt so much better using his own.

"You're going to write me, yeah?" JJ asked, releasing Harry's old toy snitch in the air, letting it flutter around, before capturing it again in his hand.

"Much as I can," Harry replied. He reached into his pocket and produced an owl treat, tossing it to his owl, who perched by JJ's head. "Hedwig's up to the job."

"Hedwig?" JJ sat up. "Where did you come up with that?"

Harry gestured to the pile of books he had yet to pack. "It was in one of these. I think it was _History of Magic_. It seemed to fit."

There was a light rap on the door. It opened and _Kachan_ poked her head in. "Sorry. I wanted to speak to you, Harry."

"JJ did it," he answered automatically.

"Hey!" JJ cried indignantly.

_Kachan_ pointed a finger at Harry. "And we'll get to whatever you did in a bit. Which I have no idea what it is, only that it's _something_. Jay, do you mind?"

JJ nodded and got up. He glowered at Harry. "You're dead meat."

He left the room and _Kachan_ entered, sitting down on Harry's bed. She held something long, wrapped in a cloth.

Harry got up, looking wary. "Am I in trouble?"

_Kachan_ considered it. She hummed softly. "That'll depend on what you did that I don't know. But for the moment no. Come and sit." She patted the spot next to her.

Harry sat next to _Kachan_. She reached a hand up, stroking his hair gently. "I can't believe it's almost been ten years since Sirius brought you to my flat in Tokyo. You've gotten so big." She sighed. "And now, here you are, going off to school."

Harry blushed, looking away. " _Kachan_..."

"I know I'm being embarrassing. But I want you to know how proud I am of you. As both my son and my student."

Harry's heart began to beat a bit faster. He glanced down at the package in _Kachan_ 's hand, realizing what it was.

"Your training has been exemplary. You've taken to it so naturally." She took a deep, shaking breath. 

"I know I've still got a lot to learn," Harry said quickly. "And I'm going to practice while I'm at school. Every day."

"By the Lake is a very good place," _Kachan_ said quietly, sniffling. "That's where I did it."

She touched the package in her lap. "I was your age when my father sat me down and told me about the responsibility this holds. But you know all that. You know this is not something done lightly." She took a breath. "I know you're scared of going to school. You're scared of what might be waiting for you." She reached a hand up, brushing away his fringe to touch his scar. "We all are, Harry. And the only thing we know to do is to make sure you're ready for whatever comes."

She took the package in her lap and lifted it up reverently, holding it out to Harry. "I've been working on this for years. But it's time it goes to its true master."

Harry opened the package, revealing the _ko-wakizashi_ sword, nestled in a sheath. It was only about a foot and a half in length, but when he withdrew it, the metal gleamed in the light.

"This is a big responsibility," _Kachan_ said softly. "What is the most important thing to know about swords?"

"When _not_ to draw one," Harry whispered, looking it over.

_Kachan_ nodded. She drew him into a hug. "Please never need to use it."

* * *

 

" _You gave him a **sword**_?" It seemed Harry was hearing Moony angrier more and more lately. He leaned over the bannister to hear better downstairs. He looked to JJ and Neville, grimacing.

"Calm down, Remus," _Kachan_ sighed. "Harry knows how to use one. I've been working with him for years now."

"You use wooden swords!"

"Now's not the time for wooden swords," now it was Padfoot. "Come on... Don't be naïve. We've all been talking about how dangerous it is for us to come back here, for Harry to go to Hogwarts. We're not running, so the only thing we can do is have him be ready." 

"He's eleven years old!" Moony cried. "We don't know what's going to happen once he goes to school!"

"No, we don't know," Padfoot insisted. "And that's why we have to be ready for the worst. Why do you think Nico is on the run, Moony?"

"Nico's _always_ on the run," Moony replied.

"Not like this time," _Kachan_ spoke now. "You didn't see Nico when he came in, Remus. He was terrified. Something bad is happening. Maybe he's going after Nico now, but.... We're putting Harry out in the open. What's going to happen when he figures that out?"

Padfoot let out a loud sigh. "If we could hide Harry away until everything was safe, I would in a heartbeat. But you know he won't. He needs to know where he came from, what happened. And... I don't know if it ever _will_ be safe. So the best thing we can do is make sure he's prepared."

"But a _sword_?" Moony asked plaintively. "You two are going to get him expelled before he even gets to school!"

"It's not like we're letting him take his broom in his first year," Padfoot pointed out.

Moony actually laughed. "So because it's not unequivocally stated in the rules, you think it's going to be all right?"

"I had one," _Kachan_ pointed out.

"Why am I not surprised?" Moony sighed.

"No one will ever know if he never has to use it," _Kachan_ assured Moony.

"And if he does have to use it?"

Padfoot groaned. "Then we'll have bigger problems than Harry getting yelled at by McGonagall."

Harry's heart was pounding. He felt like he might be sick. He looked worriedly at JJ, then Neville. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. His parents were getting ready for him to be in some sort of battle. They were sure he was going to get himself into life threatening danger.

Neville gave Harry a nervous smile. "Still... Cool you got a sword."


	6. Chapter 6

Chamber music filtered into the opulent office from seemingly nowhere. Dumbledore didn't look up from his paper, continuing to scribble with a long, red quill. "Have you come to tell me that Harry will not be attending school this year?"

"McGonagall let me in." Sirius stepped into the office. He gave a tight smile to the Headmaster. It had been years since he'd seen him. Since the morning after the last Death Eater attack.

Finally, Dumbledore looked up from his work, peering over half-moon spectacles. "You're looking quite well, Sirius. The years have been kind to you. How is the family?"

"Good," Sirius replied. He easily slid into the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, relaxing in a sprawl. "Trying to get comfortable back in England. It's been a long time since we've been here. Not quite sure what we've come back to."

Dumbledore nodded lightly. "Yes. Now... My original question..."

"Harry will be here tomorrow." Sirius looked down, running his fingers over the handle of his wand. "I just thought you and I should have a chat before that. Really hammer out what the arrangement is going to be."

"Arrangement?" Dumbledore folded his hands on his desk. "Harry is going to be a student at Hogwarts. The same as any other."

"Dragon dung," Sirius replied. "We both know he's not the same as any other. You might want to pretend he is, but I know that's not what's going on in your head." He rose to his feet. "I want Harry to be here. Harry wants to be here. There's no better magical school... But there are certainly safer ones."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Sirius, there hasn't been any problems since--"

"I saw Nico." 

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Ah. I shouldn't be surprised. I know you have endeared yourself to him and Nelle. I never thought that would happen when I got him in contact with Yuki for training... A pleasant surprise. You can imagine the life they lead is quite a lonely one." He sighed softly, adjusting his glasses. "And what did Nico tell you?"

"That he doesn't know if it was Voldemort or one of his followers, but that someone is after the Philosopher's Stone." Sirius rose to his feet and leaned over Dumbledore's desk. "And that you have it now."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Yes, I am protecting the stone."

Sirius's lip curled and he let out a low growl. "Do you think Voldemort isn't going to figure that out? Do you think he doesn't know you and Nico are friends? That you are the only person he would trust to protect the Stone?"

"Hogwarts is the only place safe for the Stone." Dumbledore replied. "Voldemort has gotten close. Closer than destroying Nico's home in Camargue. He broke into the vault where the Stone was being held. Thankfully, Hagrid had removed it by then. By a mere hour. I shudder to think what would have happened if Hagrid had been any later returning from your home."

Sirius rubbed his forehead, standing up straight. "So now the Stone is here. Where my son is going to be coming tomorrow." He held up his index and middle finger. "Two things Voldemort wants in this world and you think we should put them in the same place."

Dumbledore's forehead crinkled. "Are you counting off the two things, Sirius... Or flipping me off?"

"Both," Sirius sighed, throwing himself back down into his chair. "I need to make sure Harry is safe. I owe it to James."

"It's more than that." Dumbledore gave Sirius a sad smile. "You called him your son."

"He is," Sirius murmured. "Merlin, I... I never wanted to replace James. But I've raised him for ten years. He's my boy."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "We are both painfully aware of the reservations I have had about this arrangement. But even I can admit that there is nowhere in the world Harry would be better loved than with your family."

"You sent his letters to Harry Potter," Sirius said slowly.

Dumbledore frowned slightly. "It is standard practice to send Hogwarts letters addressed to the student."

"His name is Harry Black," Sirius explained.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but Sirius held up a hand to continue. "It was his choice. It's not something I sought out. It's important to him. Please respect his wishes."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I shall inform his professors."

"Thank you." Sirius gave Dumbledore a cordial nod. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly in a smirk. "I should also tell you he's got a sword."

" _What_?" Dumbledore jumped up in his seat. "You--"

"Yuki gave it to him. She did consult with me and I thought it was a very good idea."

Dumbledore sank back into his seat. "Students do not go around carrying swords, Sirius."

"There was a time when it was utterly mundane around here," Sirius pointed out. " _De rigueur_ , even."

"Your French has gotten better," Dumbledore sighed. "And that was hundreds of years ago."

"There was never a rule put on the books barring it. It just fell out of fashion. Besides, all of the kids carry wands which can be even more dangerous." Sirius' grey eyes stared hard into Dumbledore's blue ones. "I'll tell him to leave it at home if you can give me a very compelling reason why he would be better off."

Dumbledore sighed. "He's not allowed to carry it to classes and if it's ever drawn against another student or teacher..."

Sirius nodded. "I'll make sure he's informed." Sirius paused for a moment. "Harry's brother..."

"James," Dumbledore replied with a nod.

Sirius flinched. "Yeah. JJ. Ah.. He was born when Yuki was in Japan. But both of his siblings were born here..."

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Sirius, the child of two British citizens born overseas because of the war will of course be invited to attend the school."

Sirius sighed in relief. "Well. I suppose that's one less thing to worry about." He turned towards the door. "I should go." He glanced over his shoulder. "Do I even need to bother telling you what will happen if you manipulate Harry in any way?"

Dumbledore held up a hand. "I will consider myself threatened. Ah-- before you leave--"

He got up and retrieved a wrapped box. He carried it to Sirius and placed it in his hands. "For you."

Sirius frowned. "What is this?"

"Open it," Dumbledore said. "I thought you might be coming to see me."

Sirius tore open the wrapping. He blinked at it, then looked to Dumbledore. He then looked back down at the device in his hand.

"It's a toaster."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. Quite a good one. It holds up to four pieces of toast at a time... Has several different darkness settings..."

Sirius' head cocked and his brow furrowed deeply in confusion. "And you're giving it to me because..."

"Housewarming present. As well as a dreadfully belated wedding gift. Congratulations on both, Sirius. Enjoy it."

"But..." Sirius shook his head. "I still don't understand."

"I know we have a problems," Dumbledore replied. "But we may still follow the conventions of civility. Have a good night, Sirius."

* * *

 

"Don't run around near the stove!" Moony admonished as he had to jerked out of the way to avoid Lex while he cooked the huge pile of scrambled eggs. "You'll burn yourself!"

"Tell Neville to leave me alone!" Lex shrieked.

"Give me back my wand!" Neville demanded. "You're going to break it!"

"Am not!"

"Where's the jam?" JJ asked, peering into the refrigerator. 

"When did we get a new toaster?" Harry asked, slathering on the jam before levitating the jar to JJ.

"Harry, you're not at school yet! Don't do any magic!" _Kachan_ admonished.

Harry continued to eat his toast. "It was just a little one."

Noriko got on tiptoes to look onto the stove. "Moony, can I help?"

"I'm all done. Maybe next time, Nori," Moony took the frying pan off the stove. "All right. Eggs are done!"

"Have you boys got everything you need?" Frank asked as he and Padfoot levitated the trunks down the stairs.

Alice gave Neville a pointed look. "You have the book on taking care of Trevor?"

"Yes Mum," Neville sighed. "I'm not going to forget that."

Alice narrowed her gaze. "Remember you can't feed a Toucan owl treats."

"I know, I know." Neville waved around his toast. "Grapes and berries."

"Why your Great-Uncle thought that would be an appropriate birthday present for you..." Alice shook her head slowly.

"Are they even allowed at Hogwarts?" Frank called from the front foyer. "Suppose they're like owls, aren't they? Just... Flashier."

Padfoot bounded in. "Suppose he and Mum are still having fun on their world tour." He gave Harry a clap on the shoulder. "You've not snuck your broom into your trunk, have you?"

"Of course not," Harry insisted, focusing his attention on his scrambled eggs.

Padfoot clapped his shoulder again. "So you don't mind that I took it out, right? I'm sure it _accidentally_ got shrunken down and put with your socks."

Harry's head jerked up and he opened his mouth to speak. Padfoot just grinned. "Got to get up earlier than that to fool a Marauder. But you really shouldn't do that to your broom. Can mess with the charms to make it fly."

Harry sighed, leaning back in his chair. " _Kuso_."

"Language," _Kachan_ admonished.

"We're going to be late!" Moony said, jumping up. "Hurry up and eat! We've got to get going!"

* * *

 

They had discussed only having two of the adults taking Harry and Neville to the train, but no one could agree which two it was going to be. Besides, JJ had kicked the door, Lex had pouted and Noriko sobbed at the idea of not being able to say good-bye to their brothers.

So there they were: five adult wizards, five kids, two heavy trunks, an owl and a toucan, heading to King's Cross.

The station was packed with Muggles, but they soldiered ahead, led by Padfoot. "All right! Line up! Frank and I will go through with the trunks first. Hey Kitten, you want to hold Nori's hand?"

_Kachan_ took Noriko's hand. "You don't need to turn it into such a production, Sirius."

Harry turned at the sound of many footsteps behind him.

"You're not old enough to go, Ginny, now be quiet." A plump woman with flaming red hair came up behind Harry and JJ. "Oh bother, there's a queue."

JJ gave an empathetic smile to the sniffling girl, whose hair was just as red as her mother's. "I can't go yet either."

"All right, all right," Alice called. "Come on, hurry up. Can't hold up the queue. Harry, it's your turn."

Yuki had just disappeared through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, holding Noriko's hand. Harry broke out into a run, darting past the busy Muggles. The world went black as he crossed through the brick. He continued to run, coming to a stop when the world suddenly came back and he set eyes on the gleaming scarlet steam engine.

He stared at it in wonder for a moment, until someone jumped onto his back at a run, knocking the breath out of him. "Wow!" JJ said, hanging onto Harry's neck. "I really wish I could go with you!"

"Gerroff me!" Harry laughed, turning himself around in a circle. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm not going to get to bother you for three whole months!" JJ replied. "I've got to get my bothering in now!"

Harry flipped JJ over his shoulder, but JJ landed elegantly on the ground, grinning madly. Harry lunged forward, getting JJ into a headlock and giving him a noogie.

"Boys..." Moony warned them.

They broke up their roughhousing just as Alice brought up the rear, holding Lex's hands.

Padfoot exited the train along with Frank. "All right. Found you boys a compartment together. No one else in it yet. I'm afraid the time has come..."

"No!" Noriko shrieked. She raced up to Harry, throwing her arms around his waist. "I don't want Harry and Nev to go away."

Harry's cheeks turn a deep crimson at his little sister's scene. He placed a hand on her head. "Come on, Norichan. Don't cause a scene."

"Did you hear what she said?" One of the twins who had arrived with the redhaired woman said to his brother. "She called that kid Harry..."

Harry tried his best to ignore them, ruffling Lex's hair before giving Frank and Alice hugs.

JJ gave Harry a punch in the arm. "Try not to have too much fun until I get there next year."

Harry punched JJ back. "Don't take out my broom."

JJ sighed dramatically. "That was the only good part of you going away!"

Harry laughed loudly, finally pulling JJ into a hug. When he pulled away, he sighed and turned to his parents.

Moony smiled proudly down at him for a long moment. He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I've put a few books in your trunk James used when he was learning Animagic that Sirius neglected. You and Neville should find them useful."

"Thanks Moony." Harry hugged him tightly, feeling a thin hand on his head. "You be all right until I get back."

"I'm always all right," Moony promised. He pulled back. "If you get into trouble at school, just think about what Padfoot would do and you do the _exact opposite_."

"I'm standing right here," Padfoot groused.

Harry now looked to _Kachan_. Herlips were pressed together tightly and her eyes were filled with tears. Harry rolled his eyes, sighing, " _Yame yo_."

"I'll cry if I want." _Kachan_ cupped his face and kissed his forehead. She then pulled him into a hug. "Have fun and don't feel obligated to get sorted into Gryffindor. Ravenclaw is just as good."

Finally, Harry was standing in from of Padfoot. He was standing up straight, smiling sadly. "Do I even need to say how proud of you we all are?"

Harry hugged Padfoot tightly, feeling him return the embrace just as fiercely. "If anything happens, you use your mirror. Or if you just want to talk..."

"It's going to be all right, Padfoot," Harry assured him. "I'll be fine."

As they parted, they could hear the redheaded woman talking with the two twins. "Now, you two- this year, behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mum."

Padfoot pointed towards the identical boys. "They seem like a good sort.  Try making friends with them."

Harry laughed, finally parting with his family just as Neville was finishing up with his own round of goodbyes. Harry took a bracing breath and smiled. "So... Are you ready?"

Neville nodded. "I think so."

Just as they stepped onto the train, Harry heard one of the twins cry, "Did you see that black-haired boy? I think that was Harry Potter!" 

Maybe he wasn't quite ready yet.

* * *

 

Harry and Neville got into the compartment where Padfoot and Frank had stored their trunks, Hedwig and Trevor. Harry threw himself into the seat closest to the window while Neville sat across from him. They both waved out the window at their family as the whistle blew, signifying the train was about to leave.

The compartment door slid open. A gangly red-haired boy stuck his head in. Harry recognized him as travelling with the family that had been behind them coming onto the platform. "Anyone sitting there?" He pointed to the seat next to Neville. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry and Neville both shook their head and the boy sat down.

His two older brothers-- the twins-- sidled up and stood in the doorway. "Hey Ron. Listen, we're going down to the middle of the train. Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down..." The twin trailed off. "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

Harry sighed. "It's Harry Black, actually."

The other twin arched a brow. "But I mean, you're..." He pointed to his forehead. "You're him, right?"

Harry rolled his eyes, pushing his fringe back to show off the scar on his forehead. "Doesn't change the fact that it's Harry Black."

"Fair enough," the first twin said with a nod.

Harry smiled tightly and jerked his chin towards Neville. "And that's Neville Longbottom, thanks for asking."

"Well, I'm Fred and this is George." He pointed to his twin. He then pointed to his other brother. "And that's Ron, our brother. We'll see you later."

With that, the two twins took their leave.

Neville groaned, leaning back in his seat. "How many times do you think that's going to happen?"

Harry shrugged. "How many students do you think there are at Hogwarts?"

Ron was goggling at Harry, making him feel a little bit uncomfortable. He sighed deeply. "You saw the scar. I didn't do anything to get it."

Ron looked away, his ears turning a deep red, realizing he'd been caught staring. "You remember it?"

Harry shook his head. "Nothing but a green light. But I was a baby. I assume I didn't do anything. Just sort of happened to me. But I don't remember anything until long after my dad took me."

"Your dad?" Ron questioned. "But... Ah..." He shifted in his seat. "I thought he..."

"My adopted dad," Harry clarified.

"You went to live with Muggles, yeah?"

Harry shook his head. "No... Padfoot, _Kachan_ and Remus are wizards." He made sure not to use his nickname for Remus. It could reveal his status as a werewolf. "Remus' mum is Muggle, but we don't get the chance to see her much."

Ron cocked his head, clearly confused at what Harry had just said.

"Padfoot is Harry's dad," Neville explained. "He likes being called Padfoot better. _Kachan_ is Japanese for Mum. And Remus is just... Well, he's Remus."

"Padfoot and Remus were my biological dad's best friends. Padfoot was my Godfather, so he adopted me when my parents died. And he married _Kachan_ , so she became my mum. And yeah, like Neville said, Remus is Remus. Sort of my third dad." Harry laughed. "Got a lot of Dads, because Neville's dad is sort of a dad to me too."

Ron looked back and forth between Neville and Harry. "You two have known each other a long time?"

"Always, it seems," Neville replied. "We've been living together since we were really little. Some of Voldemort's followers--"

Ron hissed. "You just _say his name_? But..."

 "Our parents always did," Harry replied, shrugging. "And we weren't around many other wizards."

"Where did they raise you? _The moon?_ " Ron shook his head. "Suppose that explains the accent..."

Harry blinked. He'd never thought about his accent. He knew he sounded _different_ than any of his family. They all sounded different from each other because they were all from such different places. Padfoot was from London, while Frank and Alice were from Lancaster. _Kachan_ had been raised in Wiltshire by Japanese immigrants. Moony had been raised all over the world and could sort of just blend in wherever he was with his language skills.

He looked to Neville, who just sort of shrugged. "We've been in Canada."

"Oh." Ron nodded. "And that boy who was talking to Ginny? He's--"

"My brother," Harry supplied. "JJ. He's going to come to school next year. Got a little sister too. Noriko. She's going to come to school with Neville's brother Lex."

"You're from a big family too!" Ron said, his face lighting up. "I never meet anyone who has a big family too!"

"How big is your family?" Neville asked.

"I have five brothers," Ron sighed. "Percy's up front because he's a _prefect_." He puffed himself up, mocking a haughty expression. "Like it really means anything.

"Remus was a prefect," Harry laughed. "My biological dad was Head Boy."

"My dad was both," Neville sniggered.

"My brother Bill was Head Boy. And I bet Percy will be too. I've got a lot to live up to. Then there is Charlie, who was Quidditch captain. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first."

Harry tried to be empathetic. He really did. But it was different in their house. Everyone was unique. Harry was special because he was adopted. JJ and Neville were their parents' firstborns. Lex was the baby and Noriko was the only girl.

"You never get anything new, either, with five brothers," Ron continued to grouse. 

Harry and Neville now shared very uncomfortable looks. Ron's clothes were clearly second-hand. As much as Ron wanted to find someone to share his feelings, it was something neither of them had experienced. The Blacks and the Longbottoms were very well off. Harry knew he had a vault full of gold left for him by his parents, but he never used it because Padfoot and _Kachan_ left him wanting for nothing.

"...I've got Bill’s old robes, Charlie's old wand and Percy's old rat." Ron finished.

Harry grimaced at Ron took the fat, grey rat out of his coat. It was asleep. Harry had never cared much for rats. Padfoot had an irrational hatred of the things, hexing every one he saw.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless. He hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff– I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Just then, Trevor decided to make a squawking noise from his cage. Ron looked up onto the rack to see the colourful bird. "Is that yours?" He asked Harry.

Neville bashfully stuck up his hand. Harry could tell he felt just as uncomfortable with Ron's discussion of money. "It's mine. My great-uncle Algie and great-aunt Walburga gave it to me. They live in the Caribbean."

Ron's ears turned pink and he looked down. "Oh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You two are rich, aren't you?"

"He's probably going to be rubbish with post," Neville tried to assure him. "I mean, it's cold up at Hogwarts and he's a tropical bird."

"I probably sound like a complete git to you," Ron sighed. He stood up. "I can see if somewhere else is free."

"No!" Harry said, gesturing for Ron to sit back down. "Just... Sit."

They were quiet after that for a long time. No one seemed quite sure what to say to each other. Harry didn't want to talk to Neville, for fear of isolating Ron from the conversation.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Ron miserably muttered something about bringing sandwiches. Harry smoothly slid to his feet and looked over the trolley. "Ron, help me pick out stuff for all of us. Neville and I have been living in Canada. Sweets are different there. You've got to tell us what's good."

It was a small lie. Harry knew a lot about British sweets. Dora and Andromeda were always sending them. Besides, Canada had a lot of British sweets if you knew the right places to look, which Remus-- who had a real sweet tooth-- _always_ did.

"Make sure you get enough for all three of us, Harry," Neville said, catching onto what Harry was doing. "We've still got a long trip."

In the end, they got a bit of everything. Harry paid her with some of the money _Kachan_ had made sure he had. Ron picked up one of the Chocolate Frogs. "Do you mind? I collect the cards. Got about five hundred. But I'm missing Agrippa."

Harry waved his hand, gesturing for him to go ahead. Ron deflated when he saw the card. "Ah, Dumbledore. Got him. You want him? You can start your own collection."

Harry accepted the card from Ron with a small grimace. "I've got one. My cousin Dora sends me Frogs sometimes." He looked at the image of Dumbledore. He'd never really taken a good look at the card. So this was the wizard who had sent his family on the run. He turned it over to read the back:

_Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon’s blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling._

" _Matte..._ " Harry said softly. He held out the card to Neville. " _C'est Grandpere_. Here."

"Huh?" Ron asked, looking to Neville.

Neville sighed. "Harry's annoyingly multilingual." He fixed Harry with a look. "You do realize what you said was in three different languages, right?"

"Was it?" Harry pressed the card into Neville's hand. "Look. _Grandpere_ Nico. I didn't realize he knew Dumbledore."

Neville looked at the back of the card. "They're both really old... Guess it's not surprising."

Harry shrugged. "I guess I just never thought about it." When Ron looked confused, Harry gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry... _Kachan_ spoke a lot of Japanese with us. And we lived in France for a while... Grandpere is French for Granddad...."

"You've been all over," Ron said, amazed. "I've never been anywhere. My brothers have. Bill's in Africa working for Gringott's and Charlie's in Romania studying dragons."

Harry scrunched up his face, thinking about it. He couldn't remember living in all of the places, but Moony had told him. "First I was in Japan, then I was in Canada, then the United States, then England for a while, then France, then the United States again, then Japan again, then Canada again... Now here."

Ron blinked. "How do you know who to root for in Quidditch?"

Harry smiled. "Well, my aunt Kei used to play for the Toyohashi Tengu. But since she retired, I prefer the Haileybury Hammers."

Ron's eyes went wide. " _Wow_. No one in my family ever played professionally! I mean, Charlie probably could've, but he wanted to study dragons. Your family is brilliant, Harry!"

Harry gave a small shrug. "It's just my family."

"What do you parents do? I bet it's amazing."

"Padfoot's a mechanic," Harry replied. "He takes Muggle cars and he makes them magical."

"Should introduce him to my dad," Ron sighed. "He likes to do that too. But it's against the law. My dad should know-- he works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department. But he's always finding loopholes."

"If the spells used on it render it unusable by Muggles, it's fine," Neville piped up. "That's what Padfoot is always saying. But he wasn't always a mechanic. He used to be an Auror. Same with my parents and Yuki-- that's Harry's mum."

"Aurors, really?" Ron's eyes widened. "So they fought _You-Know-Who_ and his followers."

Harry nodded.

"Suppose that makes sense." Ron looked thoughtful while he popped a few Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans into his mouth. "I mean, your real parents--"

Harry flinched. Ron blinked in shock and looked to Neville.

"Yeah, James and Lily did fight along with our parents," Neville said quickly. "That's why they were all so close."

Ron rubbed the side of his nose, where he had a spot of dirt. "So... Uhh... Have your parents taught you any neat Auror stuff?"

Harry and Neville looked at each other, silently trying to communicate what the other should say. But before they could say anything, the compartment door slid open. Three boys entered. The one in the centre was pale and slender, with shining white blond hair. The boys flanking him were thickset and mean looking, almost like they were bodyguards. "Is it true?" The blond boy asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

Harry rose to his feet, cocking his head in defiance. "My name is Harry Black."

"You're a _Black_ , are you?" the boy laughed coldly.

"Yeah," Harry said, lip curling. A lot of people had made the mistake of his name. This was the first one he ever hated for doing it. He oozed contempt and it made Harry's clench his fists.

"I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." The boy took a step towards Harry. "My mum's a Black."

"My condolences," Harry snapped. "I know the only people of worth to come out of the Black family are my dad and cousin Andromeda."

"Oh, Your _dad_ ," Draco laughed harder. "Sirius Black, right? You know, I hear he kidnapped you."

Harry flexed his fist. Neville slowly got to his feet. "Harry..." He said warningly.

"Get back, Neville," Harry whispered. "Sirius adopted me," he said through clenched teeth to Malfoy.

"My mum says he was always a criminal. Did he make you one too? Clearly he hasn't taught you to associate with the right sorts of wizards--" He looked to Ron. "Really? A Weasley? All they've got is red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford."

Ron was on his feet now, flanking Harry. "Say that again."

"Ron, stay back," Harry growled. He took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. He knew what he could do. But he shouldn't do it. He knew he shouldn't let it get to him.

"Oh, he's _mad_ at me," Malfoy mocked. He looked to each of his bodyguards. They were grinning stupidly. "I think he's going to take a swing."

Harry took a step back. "I think you really don't want me to do that."

"You have me shaking, _Black_ ," Malfoy spit out the name as if it were a curse.

"Leave," Harry demanded, his fists still clenched.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

One of the larger boys moved to grab some of the sweets. Harry's instincts kicked in with the boy approaching. He brought his knee up, kicking the boy in his ample gut before grabbing the back of his robes, hauling him over his leg to flip him onto the floor. Neville was sighing and jumping up onto the seat to get out of the way of the falling boy.

Seeing what Harry had done, his partner charged at him. Harry jumped up, grabbed the edge of the storage shelf and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him careening backwards.

Harry landed back on the ground in front of Malfoy. He grit his teeth and glared daggers at the remaining boy.

Malfoy stared back at him with loathing. "Your Jap, Halfblood whore of a _Mum_ taught you that?"

Harry's hand moved lightning fast, palm slamming into Malfoy's nose. He howled, covering his bleeding nose.

"Not the best time to have a go at my mum. Now _get out._ "

As Malfoy retreated with his goons, Harry turned to Ron and smiled tightly. "To answer your question... Yeah, we know some Auror stuff."

Neville rolled his eyes and slid back into his seat. "Unfortunately, Harry's never learned when _not to use it_."

A girl with bushy brown hair came to the compartment just as Malfoy was rushing off. "Have you been _fighting_? You'll be in trouble before we even get to school!"

"Why do you care?" Harry asked, still worked up from the fight.

"I don't," the girl replied tartly, lip curling to show off large front teeth. "If you want to get kicked out, that's your prerogative. But I've been up front talking to the driver and we'll be arriving soon. You'd better hurry up and get changed into your robes."

"Well, thank you for looking out for our welfare," Harry gave an exaggerated bow. "To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hermione Granger." The girl replied. "And _you_ are?"

"Harry Black," Harry replied. "Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley." He pointed to his friends in turn. "And we are forever indebted to you, Miss Granger."

The girl huffed. She looked to Ron. "You've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" She turned and stalked out of the compartment.

The door slammed shut behind her and Ron broke out into laughter.

Neville sighed as he went to get his robes out of his trunk. "Remus told you to do the _opposite_ ofwhat Sirius would do."

"What's the fun in that?" Harry asked. "Besides, he had a go at _Kachan_."

"You'd already beaten up his friends." Neville pulled his robes on.

"They came at me!" Harry protested. "I can hardly be blamed for defending myself!"

Ron continued to laugh uproariously, shaking his head as he slipped on his robes. They were a touch too short for him and Harry could see his worn trainers.

The light was getting dark, the sky outside deep purple. The mountains and forest cast deep shadows. A voice echoed through the train "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

They shoved the rest of their sweets into their pockets before filing out into the throng of students exiting the train. They pushed their way through. Harry noticed Ron and Neville were looking nervous.

Harry wasn't. Maybe he would have if he hadn't just gotten into a fight. Any nerves he'd had when he'd gotten into the train had drained away.

The night was cold and Harry gave a slight shiver. There was a bobbing light and Harry heard a familiar voice, "Firs’-years! Firs’-years over here!"

Hagrid towered over the students.

Neville leaned over to Harry. "Is that the man who broke into our house?"

Harry gave a nod. "Had Padfoot pinned to the wall." He held up his hand to demonstrate someone being choked. "But I think he's all right. He got me Hedwig and all."

"C'mon, follow me – any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

They walked up a steep, narrow path. Harry slipped, but Neville caught him, hauling him back up. He sniffled and gave Harry a smirk, silently teasing him about his near spill.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

The narrow path opened. Harry took a breath and his eyes widened.

Maybe he hadn't been excited or nervous in the immediate aftermath of his fight, but now he was feeling it all. He stood at the edge of the black lake, stars sparkling off the dark surface. He looked up, catching glimpses of turrets and towers behind the mountain. 

He was there. He was at Hogwarts. This was where his both his biological and adopted parents had met. This was where James Potter and Sirius Black and Remus Lupin became best friends. This was where Padfoot had what he called some of the best times of his life.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid bellowed, pointing to the boats by the shore. Harry, Neville and Ron got into it. Harry blinked in surprise when their fourth companion turned out to be Hermione Granger.

"Miss Granger," Harry said with a smirk. "Did you miss us?"

"Please be quiet," Hermione whispered, her voice shaking.

Harry then realized the rest of her was shaking. Nervous out of her mind. His smirk dissipated. "Just breathe," he whispered.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself, "Right then– FORWARD!"

The boats glided across the lake smoothly. Harry felt his heart speed up as they grew closer and closer to the cliff where Hogwarts stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff.

The boats sailed through some sort of underground tunnel beneath the castle before reaching an underground harbour. Neville, Ron and Hermione got out of the boat first, clamouring onto the rocks. Harry was just about to get out of the boat when he received a swift punch to the gut.

Harry lurched forward, skidding into the rocks and pebbles. He tasted dirt and blood in his mouth. He spat out a mouthful of pebbles and dirt, turning himself up.

 He looked up into the smirking face of Draco Malfoy, his nose still bloody. Neville held out a hand to hold Ron back, while Hermione huffed and turned away from them, striding ahead with the other first years.

Harry glowered at Malfoy. He licked over his bloodied gums. "We both tripped on the way here, yeah?"

"Suppose there's no point in losing points before we get in our houses," Malfoy hissed. "But this isn't over, Black."


	7. Chapter 7

Hagrid knocked upon the gigantic doors to the castle. At once, they parted and a tall black-haired witch was revealed. 

Harry remembered this witch. He had seen her the year before, speaking to Frank at the Quidditch World Cup. She looked very different in her emerald green robes than she did in her trousers and Team Scotland shirt.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

McGonagall gave a sharp nod. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the doors the rest of the way open.

There was something familiar to Harry about the Entrance Hall. He felt like he'd run across the flagged stone floor before, but he couldn't seem to pull the memory from his mind. Maybe he was imagining it. Certainly he had seen pictures of the school before. Or maybe it was something from long ago that was just lost to him.

He followed McGonagall with the rest of the first years, Neville on his left, Ron on his right. Harry could hear muffled talk from a room on the side. It must be the rest of the school. McGonagall led them to a small antechamber before turning to face the first years.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." McGonagall's sharp gaze travelled over the first years. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."

Harry smirked to himself. Gryffindor, of course. Padfoot and Moony were Gryffindor, as were Alice, Frank and his biological parents. He supposed Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff wouldn't be bad. _Kachan, Bachan_ Kei and Andromeda had been Ravenclaw. Ted and Dora had been Hufflepuff. Really, any house but Slytherin was fine by him. If he were put in Slytherin, he might just head back home.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Harry leaned over to Neville. "I bet you a galleon," he kept his voice very low. "That whatever house I end up in someone brags about getting the _famous Harry Potter_." He rolled his eyes greatly at the last part.

Neville smiled. "I bet you two that they're disappointed when you lose points faster than a dying phoenix loses feathers."

"Hardly a fair bet." Harry smirked. "No question that's going to happen." 

McGonagall fixed her gaze on Harry. He straightened up, coughing as if he'd not just been muttering with Neville. McGonagall huffed and continued on, "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

McGonagall's eyes drifted down towards Harry's bloodied mouth. He dragged the back of his hand over his mouth to clean up the mess the best he could.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

McGonagall left the chamber. Neville shook his head as Harry continued to try to clean his mouth, using the sleeve of his robe to scrub his teeth. "Maybe it should be a pool until your expulsion." 

Harry barely heard Neville's jest, looking to Hermione, who was muttering spells under her breath and wondering which she was going to have to use. "Is she all right?"

"Well she's nervous, isn't she?" Ron said. "Aren't you? It's some sort of test. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

"It's a hat," Harry replied, glancing at Neville in disbelief. Ron had grown up in a wizarding family, how did he not know? "It goes on your head and tells you what house you're going to be in. Padfoot is always teasing _Kachan_ about how she was two seconds away from a hatstall."

"Fred said we'd have to wrestle a troll!" Ron cried.

Harry shook his head. "No. Just a hat."

"Suppose _you_ want to be in Gryffindor, don't you?" Malfoy mocked.

Harry just shrugged.

"If you were a _real_ Black, you'd want to be in Slytherin."

Harry smiled, knowing his teeth were still slightly tinged red. "Then I guess it's a good thing I'm adopted."

Several people screamed and Harry was immediately on alert. He pulled his wand from his robes and took fighting stance, looking around frantically for the source of the distress.

He hissed in a surprised breath. About twenty ghosts had streamed through the back wall. Harry had never actually seen a ghost before. Of course, he knew about them, but seeing them was completely different. They glided through the room talking to each other, barely noticing the room was full. What looked like a fat little monk was speaking to a man in a ruff and tights. "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" The ghost in the ruff said. "He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost- I say, what are you all doing here?"

"New students!" The Fat Friar cried, looking around at the terrified students, oblivious to their state of shock. "About to be sorted, I suppose. Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."

Slowly, Harry lowered his wand, relaxing his stance.

"Bit tightly wound, isn't he?" Ron commented to Neville.

Harry glowered and rolled his shoulders to loosen the muscles before sliding his wand away.

"Move along now," McGonagall returned to the room, shooing away the ghosts. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start. Now form a line and follow me."

Harry ran a hand through his hair, feeling his nerves mount slightly as they moved towards the Great Hall. The movement had the unfortunate side effect of revealing more of his scar that he liked to display.

Four long tables filled the hall, those tables filled with students staring up at the new arrivals, their faces glowing in the candles that floated above the tables. Harry looked up at the ceiling to avoid their faces, looking into the star pocked sky.

"It's bewitched to look like the night sky," Hermione commented. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

Harry smirked to himself, remembering how Moony told him about the time he'd charmed the ceiling so that it rained inside the hall. Padfoot and James had been going mad trying to figure out who had out-pranked them.

He turned his attention to the front when he heard McGonagall moving something. She'd placed a plain stool in front of them, a frayed and dirty hat sitting on top of it.

A rip at the brim opened and began to sing.

Harry didn't pay attention to the song. Rather, he was wondering if he'd gotten all of the blood out of his mouth. He could still taste it. Maybe he was still bleeding. He looked over his shoulder to see how Neville was doing. He gave Harry a nervous smile.

Soon enough, the hall was breaking into applause as the hat finished its song. Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," McGonagall explained. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl stumbled out of line and placed the hat over her blonde pigtais. It fell down over her eyes as she sat down on the stool. It was only a heartbeat before the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down with them. The Fat Friar was waving happily at her as she settled in her seat.

McGonagall looked at the parchment and blinked once. She then looked up. "Harry Black."

As Harry stepped forward, he heard the hissing of the crowd. 

"People were saying he was Harry Potter on the train."

"He IS."

"You can see the scar."

"Does he think he's hiding who he is?"

Harry picked up the hat and shoved it down on his head, masking himself from the crowd of people goggling at him, some standing up to get a better look to confirm if the rumours were true.

"Black hm?" The hat whispered softly into Harry's ear. "Doesn't seem like most of the Blacks who come through here. You would do quite well in Slytherin though. Quite well indeed..."

"Not on your life," Harry murmured. "I know where I belong." 

"Do you?" The hat asked. "Are you _really_ so sure? There's plenty of courage, yes... Not a bad mind either... Talent, oh yes..."

"I'm a Gryffindor," Harry whispered, firm in his conviction.

"If you're sure--" The Hat almost seemed to laugh. "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry pulled off the hat as the Gryffindor table burst out in applause. He shakily made his way to their table. His nerves disappeared as the Weasley twins crowed, "WE GOT POT- BLACK!"

Harry cast a glimpse over his shoulder. Neville managed to smile back at him, despite the fear in his pale face. Harry wasn't sure why Neville was worried so much. Alice's family might have had history in Hufflepuff, but there was no way Neville would be put anywhere but Gryffindor.

Harry tried to pay attention to the sorting ceremony, which was difficult while so many Gryffindors were clapping him on the shoulder. When the ghost in the ruff did it, it felt like ice had gone down Harry's back. So many people touching him was starting to get old. "Do you mind?" He asked, just as Hermione Granger was sorted into Gryffindor.

Harry gestured to the seat next to him. She frowned warily, but took the offered seat. "Why did you do that?"

Harry grinned at her. "You won't slap me on the back just so you can touch me."

Soon enough, it was Neville's turn. It took Harry a moment to realize that he was holding his breath. Maybe he was more nervous than he thought. At least he'd been taken care of early. He wasn't sure he'd been able to stand waiting to go all of the way till 'Potter' was sorted. Yet another advantage for being a Black.

The hat was only on Neville's head for only a few seconds before it declared 'GRYFFINDOR!'

Harry let out a whoop and when Neville came down to the table, he jumped up and gave him a hug, clapping him on the back.

Neville grinned at Harry before sliding into the seat next to him, on the opposite side of Hermione.

"What did the hat say to you, Harry?"

Harry blinked at Neville, surprised by the question. " _U ̄n..._ " he stalled.

What was he supposed to say? That the hat seriously considered putting him in Slytherin? He realized he hadn't said anything for a painfully long time. "Just that it was surprised someone else in my family wasn't a Slytherin," Harry laughed, trying to push down the nasty feeling inside of him at what the hat had said.

Neville snickered. "It'll be surprised when JJ and Noriko get here."

"I thought your parents were Gryffindor," Hermione commented. "That's what I read in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Events of the Twentieth Century_. All of them have whole chapters on you. I did some extra reading for background research."

"You need better research." She bristled at the comment. "You're talking about the Potters," Harry explained. "The Blacks are my family. And yeah... Whole lot of them were in Slytherin, except for my dad." He narrowed his gaze on Hermione. "And how did _you_ end up in Gryffindor, if you're doing all of that 'background research'? Sounds more Ravenclaw to me."

"Oh." Hermione's cheeks turned very red. "Well, you saw how long the hat took. It really considered putting me in Ravenclaw. But I heard Gryffindor is the best."

"Ravenclaw's good," Harry replied. "Hufflepuff wouldn't be bad either." He shook his head. "But jab me with a stake before you make me a snake."

His insides squirmed again and turned his attention back to the Sorting just as Ron was declared a Gryffindor.

Ron's whole body seemed to relax as he made his way towards the Gryffindor table. He stopped next to Hermione's chair. "Budge up, will you?"

"I'm sitting here," Hermione protested.

"There's an open seat next to Neville," Harry said, giving Ron a large smile, glad he knew some more people in his house.

Ron glowered at Hermione before he went and took the seat next to Neville.

Harry looked up to the high table for the first time, where the professors were sitting in a line. He focused on the other in the center, the headmaster.

Albus Dumbledore. That was him, was it? That was the one who had tried to take him away from Padfoot and give him to his Muggle family.

He didn't look like a monster. But Harry couldn't help the swell of anger that came up. All of the things that might have been, that very nearly were. It frightened him to think about what would have happened if Dumbledore had gotten his way.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore announced to the hall. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Harry blinked as the rest of the hall broke out into applause. Had the man who had tried to ruin his life really just said Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak?

"Are you all right?" Ron asked.

"Very confused," Harry replied.

"A lot of people think he's a bit mad," Ron's older brother Percy commented. "He is, but he's a great wizard. Potatoes, Harry?"

Harry accepted the tray absent-mindedly. " _Domo..._ " He passed it to Neville without taking anything. He was too distracted staring at the headmaster.

" _What's wrong?_ " Neville asked in slightly clumsy Japanese. Harry realized if Neville was answering in kind, he must have switched without knowing it. At least he'd be able to converse with Neville without anyone else knowing what they were saying.

Harry looked over at him. " _That's him. He's the reason my family was on the run._ "

Neville shook his head slowly. " _No he's not. Voldemort was._ "

"What are you two on about? Why aren't you speaking English?" Ron asked. "Do you guys do that a lot? That might get annoying there."

"I think it's brilliant," Hermione commented. "You seem to be quite proficient. How did you learn?"

Harry shrugged. "Just how I grew up. My mum speaks Japanese and English and my uncle Remus is a translator. And then we moved so many places where people spoke other languages..."

Neville laughed. "Which Harry's dad hated because he's rubbish at other languages."

"It comes in handy," Harry admitted. "If you didn't want Padfoot or Neville's parents to know something, you spoke Japanese. And if you didn't want _Kachan_ to know something, you spoke French."

"But Remus knew _everything_ ," Neville laughed.

"I'd love to talk to you two about the places you've lived," Hermione said. "Most of my reading has been focused on Wizarding Britain. I'm Muggleborn, so I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Muggleborn, huh? I'm half-and-half," a sandy haired boy named Seamus Finnegan said. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch ’til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

Harry began to pile food onto his plate, listening quietly to the chatter around him from the other students as the talked between mouthfuls of food. He grimaced slightly when Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor Ghost, decided to show a group of students exactly why he was _nearly_ headless.

"Didn't take good care of their weapon," Harry commented. "Really should've been properly sharpened. Spent so much time chopping through the spine it wasn't able to get through the rest of the sinew."

There was the sound of clattering forks and suddenly several pairs of eyes were on Harry.

He shrugged unapologetically. "If you're going to do something, you might as well do it right. Beheading's actually a fairly humane form of execution if it's done properly. Strong enough person with a sharp blade--" He slid his finger across his throat. "--over in an instant."

"Oh, if only it had been so," Nearly Headless Nick bemoaned to Harry. "If it had been, my requests to join the headless hunts wouldn't be repeatedly denied! Alas, that Muggle executioner had misplaced the grindstone. Forty-five whacks it took and even then he did not finish the job!" 

Harry sighed. "If it takes more than one, you're not good at beheading."

He heard the sound of chairs being inched away from him.

"If only you had been my executioner!" Nearly Headless Nick wailing as he floated away.

The boy next to Seamus-- Dean Thomas-- gave Harry a funny look. "How do you know so much about beheading?"

Harry looked down at his hand. There was a small scar on his thumb from when it had been severed and reattached.

"His mum is a swordsmith," Neville explained.

"...But that's goblin work," Ron said, confused.

"I saw her at the station," George piped up. "She's _definitely_ not a goblin."

Harry shifted uncomfortably and instead turned his attention to Hermione, who was speaking animatedly to Percy. "I do hope they start straight away, there’s so much to learn. I’m particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it’s supposed to be very difficult-"

Percy nodded. "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing-"

"I don't know why they don't teach animagic in class," Harry piped up. "I mean if there was anything that was dead useful, it would be being able to turn into an animal. Well, as long as it was a good animal. Can't see being a goldfish coming in handy much."

"Animagic?" Percy echoed. He laughed. "They don't even mention it in class until third year."

"That's rubbish," Harry sighed.

"Where did you read about that?" Hermione asked breathlessly. "Oh, that sounds _really advanced_."

"You're really going to need to start smaller," Percy insisted.

Harry thought about all of the animagic books that Padfoot had helped him cram into his bag. He gave a small shrug. "If you say so, Percy."

"Learning to become an Animagus before seventh year is verboten," Percy said pompously. "The last person to learn at the school was Professor McGonagall."

Harry turned to Neville and sighed. Neville gave a small shrug. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, Sirius Black didn't learn to become an animagus until he left school and James Potter had never learned it at all.

"All the cool things people think my biological dad did and they don't know the coolest," Harry muttered.

"Think of Remus," Neville muttered back.

Of course he needed to remember that. If he were to start telling people when his dads learned to become animagi, they might wonder _why_.

When the puddings were finally finished, Dumbledore stood up once again. "Ahem – just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's gaze unmistakably landed on the Weasley twins. Harry couldn't help but wonder what exactly was in the Forbidden Forest that was so 'forbidden'-- at least, now that Moony wasn't in it any longer. Padfoot loved to talk about running around the forest in his animagus form, with James and Moony.

Harry yawned when Dumbledore came to the announcement of not using magic in between classes. Honestly, what were grown-ups so afraid of? He hadn't been allowed to use magic _at all_ before he came to Hogwarts... Although he did it anyway. He wasn't allowed to do magic on break. It was like they thought he was going to set his hair on fire accidentally. He had more control than that.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."

Harry looked over the staff table. "Which one is Madam Hooch?" he asked.

Percy gave Harry an imperious look. "First-Years are never on the house teams."

"Is it a rule?" Harry asked. "I thought it was just that First-Years weren't allowed to have their own brooms."

Percy opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again quickly. It seemed like he couldn't think of a rule where First-Years would be forbidden to be on the house teams. "Well, it's _implied_ in the rules..."

"You play Quidditch, Black?" Fred asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Since I was a kid. My dad and Alice taught me."

"What position?" George asked, eyeing him. "I'd say Chaser or Seeker?"

"If it means I can play, I'll be the snitch if I have to."

"Just as long as you're not a beater," Fred said.

George nodded. "That's us."

Both twins looked at each other before giving a firm nod. They then looked back to Harry. "But you might be good to have on the team. What have you been practicing on?"

"Cleansweeper Six mostly," Harry replied. "But I got a Nimbus 2000 for my birthday."

" _WHAT_?" Both twins cried together, interrupting the school song that was currently being sung. They caught looks from the professors and quickly ducked down.

"You have a Nimbus 2000?" Fred hissed.

Harry nodded.

George hit Fred on the arm. "Fred, he has a Nimbus 2000!"

"I know that!" Fred hissed. "I just asked him about that, didn't I?"

"...And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" Dumbledore called out.

Harry got up, walking along with Neville and Ron. The First Years were being led by Percy out of the hall.

"You talked all the way through the Headmaster's announcements and the school song," Neville pointed out.

Harry turned, walking backwards. "It's not like I missed anything important. Besides, I thought I was supposed to get to know other magical kids at school. That's what I was doing."

" _You_ of all people would be well to know that the third floor corridor on the right-hand side is off-limits."

Harry frowned. "Why is it off limits?"

Ron shrugged. "He didn't mention that part. Just that if we don't want to die 'a most painful death' we'd be best not to."

Harry frowned. "But... What's the reason? I mean this is a school. Why keep something at a school that could possibly kill the students?"

" _No_ Harry," Neville said insistently.

"No what?" Harry asked. "What did I say?"

"It's not what you said," Neville replied, shaking his head. "It's what you're thinking. You want to know what's in that corridor, so you think you should go investigate it."

"I didn't-- OOF!" Harry ran into someone. He turned around quickly to see who he had run into.

Greasy black hair framed his sallow skin, his hook nose looking down on Harry. His jet black eyes glared at Harry with utter contempt. "You should be watching where you are walking, Potter."

"It's _Black_ ," Harry insisted.

"Hardly an improvement," the professor hissed. "Why am I not surprised you would be flouting authority the night you arrive?"

"I need to follow my prefect so I know where I'm going," Harry said, pointing to where Percy was retreating. "Excuse me, Professor."

Harry slipped past Snape to join the rest of the First Years.

"Already on Snape's bad side," Fred called out to Harry as he went to join his own year.

George laughed along with his brother. "Who are you kidding, Freddie? Snape's got nothing _but_ bad sides..."

Harry looked back at the glowering professor. "So that's Snivellus, huh?"

Neville sighed. "Oh, they're going to send you home in a _week_."

* * *

 

 

Yuki walked out into the back garden. She sighed when she saw Sirius lying on his back, looking up at the sky. She moved beside him before lying down. She turned her head to look at him. "You know you can't stay up until he comes home for Christmas." 

"It's the first night," Sirius replied. "It's just an adjustment." 

"You've been apart from him before," Yuki pointed out.

"Not for more than a few days," Sirius replied. He let out a deep sigh. "Not when you or Remus or Frank or Alice weren't with him."

"He's eleven. We all left home when we were eleven." She rolled over, draping her leg over his hip and snuggle close. "Got to grow up at some time."

"It just seems so fast," Sirius muttered. "And I don't know if he's going to be all right."

"That's not something you can guarantee even if he stayed here. All we can do is let him go and hope for the best." Yuki tilted her head up to press a kiss to Sirius' scruffy jaw. "You know we're going to have to do this two more times very soon. Three years time, all our pups will be out of the nest."

Sirius groaned loudly. "Don't remind me. We're getting old."

"What's this 'we'?" Yuki laughed. "Be as decrepit as you want. I'm still just a kid, old man."

"There are a few things that might make me feel young again..." Sirius growled. He rolled them over so he lay on top of Yuki. "All our kids are going to be in school soon. What do you say about trying for another?"

Yuki nodded. "Oh yeah, humour is a really good way to distract yourself. Get off me, _baka na inu_."

Sirius gave her a quick kiss before rolling off of her. "Just head in, Kitten. I'll be up soon. I just need a little more time to brood."

"Don't work yourself up too much." She said with a smile before getting up and going back inside.

Sirius laid back down on his back and sighed deeply. He slipped his hands beneath his head, his gaze travelling over the stars.

"Padfoot?" Remus called out, walking out with a book. "I just saw Yuki go to bed."

Sirius sat up. "So did you find anything?"

"Why are we not telling her again?"

"Because she'd think I'm overreacting."

"As it is, I don't know if you're not overreacting. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be looking for," Remus said, sitting down cross-legged on the ground. "Lots of animals give more than one element used in wands. Yes, only two is rare, but it's not unheard of."

"If it was just Joe Bloggs-Wizardsmith, I wouldn't be worried. But it's Voldemort."

Remus shook his head, lighting his wand to look over his book. "We've known for years that Harry had a connection with Voldemort. Ever since we learned he was a Parselmouth. You know what the prophecy said..."

"That's just it," Sirius said sharply. "I don't know what the prophecy said. No one does... Even James didn't know the exact wording. Dumbledore's the only one who knows and he won't tell anyone except Harry."

"Have you talked to Dumbledore about Harry's wand?"

Sirius shook his head. "No way. Not a chance. He's not telling us anything, so why should I tell him things?"

"Because this isn't about us, it's about Harry," Remus replied.

"Just try to find me something-- anything-- about curse connections or prophecies..." Sirius raked his fingers through his hair.

"Do you really think it's started?" Remus asked.

Sirius pulled himself to his feet. "I really do. And I don't think it's going to be long before it's finished."


	8. Chapter 8

Harry was awake the next morning before everyone else in the boys' dormitory. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon. He awoke in the four-poster bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He changed into his training clothes before walking to Neville's bed and crouching down. "You want to come down with me?"

Neville let out a sleep groan, rolling over. "I want to sleep." While Neville did work with his parents-- and was quite good at it-- he'd never taken to training the way Harry had.

Harry moved to the other side of Neville's bed. "I could use someone to work with."

Neville put the pillow over his head. "I could use some more sleep," his voice was muffled.

Harry pried the pillow off of his head. "What's going to happen if you're attacked by Death Eaters?"

Neville threw his pillow at Harry and he ducked. "I'll be glad I'm well-rested for it. Go away."

Harry gave a shrug and grabbed his _bokken_ for practice. He slung it over his shoulder, noticing Neville's pillow had hit Ron's bed and he'd sleepily grabbed it and tucked it under his head.

The corridors were deserted and he stepped out onto the grounds he took a deep breath of fresh air.

He found a quiet spot out underneath a tree by the lake. As he went through his exercises, he thought about the previous day: his Sorting, the sight of the man who had tried to take him from his family, the fight with Malfoy and his cronies.

It surprised him that it was the last point that was sticking with him. He had enjoyed it so much in the moment. As much as he'd like to tell himself his skills were something he was only going to use in life or death situations, there was something so satisfying about watching those bullies hit the ground. He'd also wanted to hit Malfoy in the face long before he'd had a go at _Kachan_.

As he was nearing the end of his exercises, he took one final swing, bringing it around. He then heard a gasp and stopped.

He opened his eyes, looking at the quivering Quirrell. The _bokken_ was only an inch from his cowering body.

"Oh," Harry said softly, withdrawing quickly. "Ahh... Sorry." He straightened himself up. "I didn't see you there."

Quirrell hadn't yet stopped cowering and trembling.

Harry tucked the _bokken_ into the back of his belt. "I've put it away now. It's all right."

Quirrell moved his hands away from his head and straightened up. "O-Oh... W-w-well... Y-Yes..."

"What are you doing out here, Professor?" Harry asked, stretching his arms.

"I-I c-could a-ask th-the s-s-s-same." Quirrell stammered. "I-I s-s-s-saw y-you c-come o-out."

Harry ruffled the back of his hair. "Is it against the rules? I came down to practice. I have to practice. _Kachan_ will _kill_ me if I don't."

Quirrell held up his hands, almost in surrender. "N-n-n-no! I-It's f-f-f-fine! J-J-Just... I-I w-w-want t-to kn-know..."

Harry pointed back towards the castle. "Well, I'm going to go back to the castle."

"I-I'll c-come w-w-with." Quirrell walked alongside Harry.

Harry glanced over at Quirrell as they walked together. He had to admit he thought Quirrell was a bit of an odd choice for Dora to be dating. He was incredibly nervous. His turban also smelled faintly of garlic. She'd said he never removed it. Maybe he needed to. It could probably use a good cleaning.

"So you teach Defence Against the Dark Arts," Harry commented idly.

"N-N-Not th-that y-you n-need i-it," Quirrell replied. "W-With y-y-your...." He chopped his hands in front of him, doing a bad imitation of martial arts.

"I don't really think of that as defence against the dark arts," Harry commented. "But I do know some. A lot of Aurors around me."

Quirrell nodded. "Y-Y-Yes. Of-of c-course." He smiled. "B-B-But e-e-even b-b-before th-that, y-you c-c-could d-d-defeat th-the D-D-D...." He trailed off. "Y-You-K-Know-Wh-Who."

Harry shrugged. "I didn't do anything," he replied. "I don't remember it. It just... Happened."

"S-S-Sirius n-n-never t-told y-you i-if y-y-your p-p-p-parents d-did s-s-something?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I don't think they did anything. It just... Happened." He shrugged. "Magic's a funny thing. I think Voldemort must have made a mistake."

"He didn't," Quirrell said quickly.

Harry blinked. "Professor?"

"E-everyone kn-know y-y-you're a gr-great w-w-wizard. I-It w-was b-b-because o-of th-that," Quirrell replied. He smiled widely at Harry. "D-D-Dora l-loves t-to t-talk a-a-about y-you."

"You seem to make her really happy, Sir," Harry said to Quirrell. "And I'm really looking forward to class."

"Y-Yes... W-Well..."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. This was one of the more uncomfortable conversations he'd ever had. Not that he had a problem with Quirrell, per se. He just had no idea what to say to the awkward man.

He was half considering writing to Dora, asking her what she saw in him. But he thought that might be rude. Obviously, she liked him. Harry would do her best to get along with him. "Well, I should probably run. I need to get ready for breakfast. It was nice to talk to you."

Quirrell nodded and Harry turned, running towards the castle. Definitely an odd man. He made Harry's stomach churn a bit. But he chalked that up to the crush he had on Dora when he was younger.

When get got back to the Gryffindor Common Room, he was immediately greeted by the Weasley Twins. A burly boy several years older than them hung back.

"Harry!" Fred cried, circling around him. "What are you wearing?"

"Clothes," Harry replied, looking down at his _hakama_ and _uwagi_. Yes, they were Japanese, but were they really that confusing? "I was practicing?"

"Practicing what?" The burly boy asked. "You can't have it here. Unless..." He pulled the _bokken_ out of Harry's belt. "You weren't practicing with this, were you? How does that work? Did you place a flying charm on it?"

Harry blinked. "I'm confused."

" _Quidditch_ ," all three boys said together.

"I wasn't practicing Quidditch," Harry replied. He took the _bokken_ back. "This is for _Mahō Budō."_

All three boys stared at him blankly.

"It's Japanese Duelling." He pointed towards the stairs to his dormitory. "I really should get ready for..."

The burly boy took a hold of Harry's face. "Not yet. I need to ask you a question: Are the twins right? Do you have..." He was almost quivering in excitement. "A Nimbus 2000?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "My parents bought it for me for my birthday."

The boy let out a small whimper. "And you're interested in playing for the Quidditch team?"

Harry nodded again. It was difficult as the boy was holding onto his face even tighter now. "Yeah."

The boy whimpered again.

"I'm confused," Harry said. "And, well... Scared." His eyes darted to Fred and George for explanation.

"Come on, Oliver--" Fred started.

"--Get off the kid," George finished.

The two boys pried Oliver off of Harry. "This is Oliver Wood," Fred explained.

"He's the Captain of the Quidditch team," George clarified.

"We told him you were interested in playing," Fred gave Oliver a pat on the head.

"He was very interested to hear it," George finished.

"We'll have to talk to McGonagall," Oliver said, pushing away Fred and George to pace. "Harry has to be allowed to bring his broom to school. It's the only thing for it. McGonagall wants us to win the cup as much as anyone. We've never done it before. But now... Oh, now..."

Harry's heart began to beat fast. He might be allowed to bring his broom to school? He could try out for the Quidditch team?

"Seriously?"

Oliver got into close to Harry, almost nose to nose. Harry pulled himself back. "Do your glasses get in the way of seeing a Snitch? How bad is your eyesight?" He shook his head. "Ah, I'm sure the Nimbus 2000 will make up for anything! We're finally going to win this year!"

"Make up?" Harry blinked. "Wait... Are you just asking me to join the team?"

Oliver nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Harry shook his head just as slowly. "No. I'm good, with or without a Nimbus 2000." He sighed. "You want my broom, not me. And I'm not too keen on that."

"But--" Oliver started.

Harry shrugged. "I could catch a Snitch on an Oakshaft 79, but you don't care about that. And I'm not going to be overshadowed by a broom. So I'm turning you down."

What was he doing? He was dying to be on the Quidditch team! But no... He was better than a broom.

Neville was getting dressed while Ron was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when Harry arrived. "How was training?" Neville asked.

"I turned down the chance to play Quidditch because my broom is cooler than me," Harry answered. 

Neville frowned. "That usually doesn't happen when you train."

 

* * *

 

By Friday, Ron was _still_ harping on the fact that Harry had turned Oliver down.

"But... It's Quidditch! You'd be the youngest Seeker in a century!" He cried. "How could you?"

"Because Wood would be happy mounting a scarecrow to my broom," Harry replied, opening his Potion's Book. "And if no one cares if I'm there, what's the point?"

"Because it's _Quidditch!_ "

Harry sighed. Ron really wasn't helping his resolve. It had been hard enough turning down the offer. But if he wasn't really wanted on the team, he wasn't going to waste his time.

Snape arrived in the classroom and started to take roll. Harry was confused when his name was not the first one called. Alphabetically, he was first.

Harry sighed, realizing what was happening belatedly, only after he said Malfoy. He waited for it, then...

"Potter."

Harry kept his mouth closed tightly. He looked around, as if he expected another Potter to announce he was in the class.

"Potter."

Snape walked right up seat. "POTTER."

Harry just stared up at him, not giving him the satisfaction.

"Are you not here?" Snape snarled, eyes narrowing.

"I wouldn't know," Harry replied tartly. "You never called my name."

Snape's lip curled. "It seems our new celebrity wants special treatment..."

Harry cocked his head in confusion. "But everyone else is called by their real name..."

"You are being called by your real name," Snape hissed. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

Several of the Gryffindors groaned and Harry felt a swift kick under the desk from Neville. He had no regrets. He wasn't going to let Snape of all people refer to him as Harry Potter all he wanted.

He continued on with the roll and when he was done, he turned with a flourish of his cape to face the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Who the _hell_ did Snape think he was kidding with that? Maybe his speech might have been dramatic if he hadn't used the word 'dunderheads' in it. Harry rolled his eyes greatly.

Snape noticed Harry's disdain. "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry arched a brow. He didn't actually know that. He was weak with Potions. Not that he would admit that. "Maybe you shouldn't ask that before you've taught anything," he snapped.

Hermione-- who was holding up her hand-- groaned at Harry's response.

Snape's expression was one of complete and utter disgust. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

He leaned across the desk, uncomfortably close to Harry. "I'm sure you know about _wolfsbane_ , don't you, Potter?"

Harry's heart thudded in his chest. He knew about Moony! How did he know about Moony? Yes, they went to school together, but Moony would _never_ have told Snape. He bit back his fear and continued to glare wilfully at Snape. "I think Hermione knows, _Snivellus_." 

Snape's nostrils flared. What little colour in his face had drained. "Thirty points from Gryffindor. And a visit to the Headmaster." His yellow teeth were clenched as he spoke. " _Clearly_... Fame isn't everything."

 

* * *

 

Harry sat cross-armed in Dumbledore's office, the Headmaster sitting across from him. "Well, Harry... You have certainly earned the ire of Professor Snape."

Harry stayed quiet, not sure what he was supposed to say in response. To tell the truth, there were actually _several_ things he could say in response. He just knew none of them were the right thing to say. For one, Snape's ire had been fully in place the moment Harry had arrived.

"I'm not sure what schools you were in previously, but here at Hogwarts, professors are to be respected," Dumbledore said quietly. "Professor Snape says you were talking back to him."

"He was asking me questions. I was answering him," Harry responded grumpily. "I can't help it if he didn't like the answers I gave him."

"You called him a derogatory name," Dumbledore pointed out.

"He did it to me first," Harry snapped. "He was calling me Potter."

Dumbledore blinked in surprise. He walked to Harry's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. Harry flinched at the touch. "Do you think being Harry Potter is an insult?"

"It's _not_ who I am," Harry insisted. He pulled away from Dumbledore's touch, standing up. "Why doesn't anyone understand that?"

"Your parents were heroes," Dumbldore said softly.

"My parents _are_ heroes," Harry hissed back. "Padfoot, _Kachan_ and Moony were in the Order of the Phoenix. They fought against Voldemort..."

"I meant the Potters." Dumbledore sighed. "Your real parents."

Harry shook his head savagely. "James and Lily aren't real! They're _dead!_ "

Harry took a deep breath, trying to rein in his anger. He didn't want to get into this. Not with Dumbledore. He hands were shaking, clenched into fists. "I... Wasn't sent here... To talk about _them_..."

Dumbledore nodded slowly, remaining infuriatingly calm. "Yes, of course. You were sent here because of your attitude towards Professor Snape. You were disrespectful towards him."

Harry cocked his head. "I'll respect _Snivellus_ when he respects me."

"I shall speak to Professor Snape about respecting your personal nomenclature. But insults towards the staff will not be tolerated. If this continues, we will have a problem, Mister Black. For now, I believe the thirty points from Gryffindor will serve as a warning. Next time, the consequences will be far more severe."

Harry looked to the door. "So can I go?"

Dumbledore nodded. "You may. I do not wish to see you in here again, Mister Black." 

As Harry turned towards the door, he caught a flash of red moving quickly though one of the portraits on the wall.

 

* * *

 

Albus sighed deeply, placing his head in his hands. "I feared this might happen."

"Snivellus asked for it," James said from the portrait over his shoulder. "You know he was doing more than either of them said."

"James!" Lily admonished. "Don't call him that!" She paused for a long moment. "Although you are right. Severus was never good with his anger. But Harry's done nothing to deserve it... It was his first day of class!"

"Harry reminds him of you. Both of you," Albus raised his head, leaning back in his chair with a deep sigh. "The product of your union is no doubt too much for him to bear."

"Well he's going to have to _bear it_ ," James hissed, making the dozing headmaster in the portrait he was invading jerk in his sleep. "Harry's got every right to be here. I'm not so sure about Sniv-- _Snape._ "

"He has been here for ten years," Albus reminded the painted representation of James. "He has earned his position. He is a talented potioneer." He shook his head slowly. "I just worry about Harry. Hagrid told me how angry he was when he visited the Black home. He talked throughout the Sorting Ceremony. He's wilful and wary of authority. What I feared from him being raised by Sirius..."

Lily's painted mouth curved down in a frown. "Excuse me, Headmaster?"

"Sirius indulged Harry. He is cocky and arrogant. That would not have been the case had Petunia raised him."

"Petunia and Vernon would have been terrible to him!" Lily cried. "Tried to force the magic out of him!"

James moved between portraits to get as close to Albus as he could. "Headmaster, are you suggesting that my son should have been raised by those hateful Muggles because it would have _built character_?!"

"That is not what I said," Albus insisted.

"That's what it sounded like," Lily snapped.

Albus rose to his feet, turning to face James and Lily. "Are you saying you're happy with how Sirius has raised him? He refuses to acknowledge you as his parents. Denies his name."

"We're not his parents," James replied. "We're paintings of them. We can't love him. Sirius did what I told him to do... Raise him as his own."

"Of course we would have wanted to raise him... But we _died_ ," Lily sighed. "Harry can't chase ghosts. What we would have wanted doesn't matter. What matters is his happiness. If he's happy as Harry Black--" Even the paint could show her sadness. "--then that's who he is." 

James nodded. "If you want to have a Parent-Teacher Conference about Harry, you're going to need to speak with his parents."

 

* * *

 

Once Harry was excused from Dumbledore's office, he was free for the weekend. The Gryffindor First-Years didn't have class during the afternoon on Friday.

He traversed the grounds, heading down to the hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He noticed the crossbow on the door, thinking that it might be fun to fire one of those. Maybe not that one, as it looked far to big. He raised a hand, considering if he really wanted to knock for a moment, before he gave in and rapped his knuckles against it.

There was a scrambling inside and several booming barks. Hagrid then shouted. "Back, Fang! _Back!_ "

The door swung open and Hagrid looked down at Harry, blinking. "Why.... Harry... Didn' expect t'see yeh."

"Yeah... Well..." Harry shifted. "I... I wanted to thank you. For my birthday present. She's really nice. I named her Hedwig."

"Oh... Well..." Hagrid smiled, looking away. He snatched the collar of the large black boarhound. "Would yeh like ter come in? I've just made tea. _Back_ , Fang!"

Harry nodded and stepped into the hut. He gave a small jump as Fang jumped at him.

"Not a fan o' dogs?" Hagrid asked.

Harry shook his head. "No! I love them. Just never been around them, except for Padfoot. And he doesn't really count, does he?"

He sat down on one of the oversized chairs and Fang bounded over to him, licking his face and knocking his glasses askew. Harry grimaced, but gave the dog a pat on the head regardless.

"So how's yer first week been?" Hagrid asked as he poured tea and put rock cakes on a plate.

He didn't know why, but Harry unleashed the torrent of information at Hagrid. Everything that had happened to him. How he'd love beating up Malfoy. His turning down being on the Quidditch team. His discomfort around Quirrell. His encounters with Professor Snape and the Headmaster. How everyone was calling him Harry Potter and how it was driving him mad.

It felt good to vent it all. Somehow, he hadn't been able to say all of it to Neville or Ron. He just needed someone to sit there and listen to it all.

"Well..." Hagrid stroked his long, shaggy beard. "'s a lot, innit?"

"It's like everyone expects me to be someone different," Harry sighed. "They expect me to be _Harry Potter_. But that's just not who I am."

Hagrid sighed. "Can't say 'm not guilty o' that." He shook his head. "But it were silly o' me t' think you wouldn't be like this. Yer a lot like yer Dad-- both'er them. James n' Sirius. An' they were good kids. Trouble-makers, no doubt... But good. Everyone jus' gotta get use t' yeh. Give 'em time."

Harry looked down. He then noticed something on the table beneath the tea cosy. He pulled it out. It was a newspaper clipping.

_GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown._

_Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day._

_"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon._

Harry frowned deeply. He then looked up at Hagrid, holding up the clipping. "Why do you have this, Hagrid?"

"Whu--" Hagrid shook his head, before scratching his nose. "What're you on about?"

"You clipped this out of the paper," Harry said. "You had to have a reason for doing that. Why are you interested in a break-in?" He cocked his head. "You didn't do it, did you?"

"WHAT?" Hagrid was on his feet. "O' COURSE NOT! I'M THE ONE THA--" His eyes went very wide. "Never yeh mind."

"You're the one that what?" Harry asked. Harry fixed Hagrid with a look. "You know, if you don't tell me, I'm going to think you were the one that did it."

"I were jus' doin' Dumbledore n' Flamel a favour!" Hagrid cried indignantly.

Harry blinked. It had something to do with _Grandpere?_ "Oh..." He nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry I asked, Hagrid."

He got up, having not drunk any of his tea. "Thanks for the tea, Hagrid. We should do this again."

With that, he raced out of the hut. There was something funny going on at this school... And he was going to find out what it was.


	9. Chapter 9

"So Hagrid did something for your grandfather and it's connected to the break-in at Gringott's," Ron summed up what Harry had explained when he had the chance to sit down with him and Neville in a corner of the common room. 

Harry nodded. "Yeah. _Grandpere's_ house was broken into around the same time." He paused. "Well, one of his houses. I think he's got a lot of them. He has to move around a lot." 

"Why does he have to do that?" Ron asked, looking between Neville and Harry.

Harry gave a small shrug. "I don't know. We moved around because we were afraid people were going to find us."

"By people you mean--" Ron trailed off.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Voldemort's followers."

Ron shuddered.

Harry ignored Ron's distaste for the name and continued on, looking to Neville. "If Hagrid brought up _Grandpere_ when talking about that vault being opened, it probably has to do with the people who broke into his house too."

Neville nodded. "It makes sense. _Grandpere's_ house was broken into two night before that."

Harry thought about it. "If it was in a vault, that means _Grandpere_ has something. Something that dark wizards would want."

Harry and Neville just stared at each other, trying to think about what it could be. They didn't get to see _Grandpere_ often. They didn't really know that much about what he did when he wasn't visting them.

"You said your Grandfather was your mum's teacher, right?" Ron pointed out. "What did he teach your mum?"

"Something to do with making swords," Harry replied. "I'm not sure what. I don't know much about making swords. It hasn't been long I've been training with them either."

"Yeah, he only got his own in August," Neville said with a nod. Harry grimaced.

Ron's eyes went wide. "You've got a sword?!" 

Harry held up his hands, looking around the common room to see if anyone had heard Ron's loud question. "Shhh..." he nodded. "Yeah. I do."

Ron crinkled his nose. "You're not talking about that stupid wooden one you take out every morning, are you?"

Harry glowered at Ron. "You know I could do a lot more damage to you with that 'stupid wooden one' than you could do to me with a real one, right?"

Ron gulped as Harry arched a brow at him. "Yeah... Well..."

"The Chocolate Frog Card!" Neville said suddenly. "Remember, on the train? You pointed out _Grandpere_ was mentioned on it. He did something with Dumbledore. Whatever he did with Dumbledore probably has to do with whatever Dumbledore is doing with him now!"

"Do you remember what it said?" Harry asked.

Neville shook his head. "No..." Sometimes Neville had a terrible memory. "Do you still have the card?"

Harry shook his head. "I left it on the train. It was Dumbledore. I have six of him at home."

He leaned back, considering the situation. He needed to find out what had been taken from that vault. What dark wizards would destroy _Grandpere's_ house in order to find. But he didn't know where to start, other than finding someone who had that damn Chocolate Frog card.

He heard the turning of a page from the opposite corner of the room. He smiled, seeing Hermione engrossed in a book.

"I have an idea."

* * *

 

"Swordmaking," Hermione repeated as she pulled a book off the library shelf. Harry'd only managed to catch Hermione when she wasn't busy several days later. "You want to know about swordmaking. Why do you think I would know anything about that?"

"Because you know about everything," Harry replied. "And if you don't know, you know the best way to find out about it."

"Oh." Hermione smiled. "Well..." She set her book down on the table. "Why do you want to know anyway? Swordmaking _isn't_ that common anymore, ever since they went out of favour as a weapon. It just became too hard to conceal them from Muggles and they were never that useful compared to wands..."

Harry opened his mouth to disagree. He thought swords could be _very_ useful, but if he was trying to get a favour from Hermione, it probably wasn't a good idea to disagree with her.

Hermione sighed. "And it's very advanced. All I know is it isn't really a wizard discipline. Mostly, wizards leave it to goblins."

"That might be true here, but other countries..." Harry muttered to himself. He shook his head.

"Didn't you say that your mother made swords?" Hermione asked. She nodded. "Yes, I remember you saying that at the Welcome Feast. Why don't you ask her?"

Oh, that would go over well. Padfoot, _Kachan_ and Moony would go spare if they found out he was investigating this. They'd already had enough problems with him knowing _Grandpere's_ home was attacked. "I just can't. Can you help me?"

"I have a lot of work to do," Hermione replied.

"Please Hermione?" Harry gave her a smile and reached out, touching her hand. "You're the best student in the school. If anyone can help me, it's you."

"The best?" Hermione blushed.

Harry nodded. "Of course you are! You always know the answers to everything class! I'll find the answer ten times quicker if you help me."

Hermione bit her lip. "Well..." She nodded. "All right. But only when I'm not busy. It could do me good to look at something outside of my own interests. It could set me on a new research path." She cocked her head. "But what are you looking for specifically?" 

"What a wizard named Nicolas Flamel would know about the subject."

* * *

 

Sirius leaned casually against the gargoyle concealing the entrance to the headmaster's office. He let out a yawn and pushed his hair out of his face. He'd been waiting for about twenty minutes. In that time, a few students had passed him by, muttering about the man standing there. He was pleased to note several of the older girls found him attractive. It was nice to know he still had the touch, even if the idea of using it was utterly repellent.

He stood up straight when he saw Dumbledore coming up the corridor. "Headmaster. Glad you could join me. I'd sent an owl saying I was coming at six."

Dumbledore stopped in front of Sirius. "I do apologize. I was detained. Jelly baby!" He announced and the gargoyle revealed the staircase to his office. "Now, if you would join me..."

Sirius followed Dumbledore up the stairs to his office. He threw himself down into the chair across from Dumbledore's, steepling his fingers. "Thanks for the toaster, Dumbledore. You were right... It is a very good one."

"A card would have sufficed," Dumbledore replied. He gave a respectful nod to Fawkes before sitting down in his chair. "But you are well aware of that. So I suspect you are here for ulterior reasons. I normally schedule parent-teacher conferences if there is a problem."

"Is there a problem?" Sirius asked, sitting up straighter.

"Harry is a very bright boy. I've seen him working quite diligently on a number of projects. Professor McGonagall informs me he had several books on animagic he brings with him to class..."

"Like father, like son," Sirius said quietly.

"...But he's wilful, prideful, arrogant and quick to anger." Dumbledore finished. "Again, like father, like son. And the issues of nature versus nuture remains murky, as such words could be applied to both his biological and adoptive fathers. He has already lost fifty points to Gryffindor."

Sirius sighed. "And how many of those points were taken off by Snivellus?"

" _Professor Snape_ has every right to take points from Harry," Dumbledore stressed. "And I have had words with him about his prejudices. While I think it has been a bit slow going, Harry is fitting in at school. He is a hard worker. Your wife will be pleased to know he wakes early every morning in order to practice his duelling. He's made friends outside of Mister Longbottom, although the two of them are as close as brothers. Mister Longbottom is also flourishing. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"

Sirius smirked, putting his hands behind his head as he put his feet up onto Dumbledore's desk. "Quite a bit. I didn't come here to talk about Harry. But I wasn't about to interrupt you."

Dumbledore arched his brow, looking at Sirius' feet on his desk. "And what pray tell have you come to discuss with me."

"The Philosopher's Stone," Sirius replied.

"We have already discussed that." Dumbledore leaned over, pushing Sirius' feet off his desk. "I will not discuss it with a parent any further."

"I'm not here as a parent," Sirius replied with a shrug. "See, I was sitting at home thinking to myself... Self, you're not happy with what Dumbledore is doing at the school right now. But there's not really much you can do about it, is there? I mean you're a mechanic. A badass former Auror mechanic, but a mechanic all the same." He leaned in. "But then I said to myself: Self, didn't your mother grant you the Black Family school gubernatorial seat?"

"That seat has been empty for nearly eleven years," Dumbledore pointed out.

"Ah--" Sirius pointed a finger at Dumbledore. "But the seat is only relinquished by death, choice or forfeited by jail sentence. As you said, the seat is empty. I am perfectly within my right to take it once again."

"The School Governors will be quite upset. It made it so much easier to pass votes with an odd number. I was never needed to be brought in for a tiebreaker. They always hated that."

Sirius smirked. "Well, it is painfully obvious to me that you have not discussed the protection of the Philosopher's Stone with the school governors, despite their right to know when a dangerous object is brought into the school."

"The Stone is quite well protected," Dumbledore insisted.

Sirius nodded. "Oh, I suspected as much. Spells, enchantments... Perhaps barrier guarding creature or two..." He folded his hand. "Good protection for the Stone. Not so good for the student who happens to stumble upon those protections."

"We've taken precautions against students stumbling upon the protections." Dumbledore pointed out.

"Right." Sirius laughed. "I'm sure it was something along the lines of 'don't go down this forbidden corridor. It's absolutely forbidden and in no way enticing for teenagers to explore'."

"Not every teenager is like you and your friends, Sirius."

"I'm sure there are at least a few here," Sirius replied. He thought about how adventurous Harry had always been. "Like father, like son after all."

"Do you think I would try to lure your son into something dangerous involving a rare and dangerous piece of magic?" Dumbledore frowned deeply.

"I don't know." Sirius stood up. "But I am going to be keeping an eye on things here. Dropping in unannounced."

"You could just send your cousin," Dumbledore smiled. "She is quite fond of our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."

Sirius paused. "How long have you known about that?" 

"Most likely, not as long as it has been going on," Dumbledore replied. "I would take disciplinary actions, but I have no evidence they were involved at all when she was a student and he was a professor. Although I do suspect their relationship may have influenced his decision to take a sabbatical. Regardless, your cousin has been to the school several times since school began." 

"And she's still young. An Auror in Training." Sirius crossed his arms over his chest. "I finished my training. I saw combat. I know what's dangerous. And I want to make sure everything is safe for your trap."

"My trap?" Dumbledore echoed.

Sirius nodded. "Yes. Putting the stone in so high-profile of a place... That's not hiding it. You're using it as bait. You're hoping to bring Voldemort out, because you know he's the one looking for it."

"It could be one of his followers," Dumbledore replied. "Doing it in hopes to benefit him." 

"And which do you think it is?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "That I need to find out. I won't be able to stop what I don't understand." He gestured to the door. "You know the way out, Mister Black."

* * *

 

"Come on, Harry," George prodded Harry. The Weasley twins flanked him on either side. "You're only punishing yourself."

"Just try-out!" Fred cried. "Use one of the school brooms! If you're as good as you think you are, you'll get on the team!"

Harry groaned. It had been like this since he'd turned down Oliver's offer. He looked at both of the twins in turn. "I'll think about it. I don't know. Is Oliver still on about the fact that I've got a Nimbus 2000 that is going to waste?"

Both of the twins went quiet, looking away.

"Thought so." Harry sighed. "I might come to try-outs. Maybe."

"Maybe is good," Fred said with a nod. "Maybe we'll get him to stop moaning now."

The twins ran off, leaving Harry alone. He shook his head and sighed.

"What was that about?" Harry jumped at the familiar voice. But his heart began to pound as he whirled around.

"PADFOOT!" Harry threw himself into Padfoot's arms, hugging him tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Had to see Dumbledore about something." Padfoot replied, hugging Harry tightly. "But I didn't want to leave without seeing how you were doing."

Harry pulled back, grinning. "I'm fine. I mean... I've missed you. I miss everyone at home. How are they all doing?"

"Everyone's fine," Padfoot assured him. He rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully. "Well, JJ's been a bit moody since you left. A lot moody, actually. Think he really misses you and Neville." 

"We miss him too." Harry frowned. "So why did you have to see Dumbledore?" Padfoot wouldn't come to see Dumbledore unless it was something serious. "Am I in trouble?"

"Of course not!" Padfoot insisted. "Why? Is there something you _should_ be in trouble for?"

Harry averted his gaze.

"Thought so." Padfoot clapped him on the back. "To be expected, honestly. Dumbledore _did_ mention you'd been disrespecting Snivellus."

"He calls me _Potter_." Harry kept his gaze off of Padfoot. He knew that it would've made Padfoot happy for him to have kept the Potter name, but it had never felt right to him.

"He's just trying to get you angry," Padfoot muttered. "He knows you don't like it. He wants to get a rise out of you to have an excuse to take points off of you." He nudged Harry in the side. "What would be even more frustrating is if you were the perfect student. Show him up."

"Are you just saying that so Moony and _Kachan_ won't get mad at you for encouraging me to be a troublemaker?" Harry asked, finally looking up at Padfoot.

"What? Me?" Padfoot let out a barking laugh. "Like I'd be afraid of Moony and _Kachan_."

Harry thought so. "So if you're not here about me. What is it? It is _Grandpere_?"

"What do you know about that?" Padfoot asked, far too quickly too defensively.

"That the break in at _Grandpere's_ house had to do with the break in at Gringott's. And that Hagrid emptied the vault out before it was broken into," Harry answered honestly. "What was in the vault?"

"Don't worry about it." Padfoot placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's protected. Dumbledore's too clever by half as much as I hate to admit it." He pointed a finger at Harry. "Don't do anything to get yourself hurt or in trouble."

"Look who's talking!" Harry laughed, shaking his head.

Padfoot didn't laugh along with him. He shook his head. "Harry, you have to stay out of it. You're going to get yourself hurt if you don't."

Harry's laughter died. He shook his head fractionally, looking up at Padfoot. "But Padfoot--"

"I mean it!" Padfoot's voice was rough. "Can you please just... Listen to me. Don't get yourself into this. I'm taking care of it. I'm going to make sure you don't get hurt in all of this."

Harry's stomach flipped. He stared up at Padfoot in abject horror. The normally jovial face of his adoptive father was deadly serious. "It's him, isn't it?"

"What?" Padfoot shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to look casual.

"Voldemort," Harry clarified. "The person who broke into Gringott's. Who broke into _Grandpere's_ house. It was Voldemort, wasn't it?"

"I didn't say that," Padfoot insisted.

"You didn't have to," Harry replied. "You're scared. You're scared I'm going to get hurt. Who else would want to hurt me?" 

Padfoot pulled Harry into another tight hug. "Just go to classes, Harry. Do well. Listen to those twins and try out for the Quidditch team. You don't need to get involved in this."

Harry pulled away from Padfoot. "Isn't he going to come after me?"

"That's why you don't have to go looking for trouble." Padfoot cupped Harry's face. "I'm going to do everything I can to keep him away from you. But I can't do that if you're going after him. So please... Just... Be a model student for now."

"I'll do my best." Harry sighed. He allowed Padfoot to hug him once again. "I might end up getting into a fight with Draco Malfoy though. He's a real prat."

Padfoot stroked the back of Harry's hair. "Just try not to get caught, all right?"

* * *

 

Harry was finding lessons to be very monotonous. His professors were nowhere near as fun as getting tutored by his family. The only bright point in classes at Hogwarts was he was able to actually use magic, as opposed to just getting lessons on the theory.

Still, Harry was thrilled when flying class came. He was less thrilled when he found out the lesson would be with the Slytherins. He'd managed to avoid Malfoy since the train, but his loathing of the pale boy had not diminished in the slightest.

The first lesson was dreadfully dull. The only thing they did was practice getting the broom to go up, pushing off the ground and hovering several feel in the air. Harry had been doing that since he was small. It was a sentiment shared with most of the children from wizards families. Those like Hermione, who were muggleborn, all looked slightly pale from just that much excitement.

"Bit of a waste of time," Hermione muttered to herself as they went to put their brooms away. "All of the other lessons we could be working on and they have us flying brooms. There are so many other ways to get around in the magical world. Floo powder, apparition, carpets, flying horses..."

"You were the girl in Muggle school who complained about having to take PE, weren't you?" Harry asked Hermione.

Hermione bristled. "There are better ways one can use their time."

Harry grinned. "I actually agree. This isn't flying. This is hovering. Complete waste." He gave her a grin. "Want to see what real flying looks like?" He went to mount his broom.

"You're going to get yourself in trouble," Hermione sniffed, unimpressed. "Just because you want people to think you're clever."

"I am clever," Harry retorted. He grinned at her. "Come on, admit it.... I'm at least a little bit clever."

Hermione glared at him. "I think you think that enough for the both of us."

"Uh, how disgusting," Malfoy sneered as he immerged from the broom shed. "Found a Mudblood girlfriend, have you, Black?"

Harry's lip curled in disgust. " _What?_ "

"You heard me," Malfoy mocked. "A little Mudblood girlfriend. Then, I guess your mother was one and that's why she got herself--"

Harry swept his broomstick under Malfoy's legs, knocking him flat on his back. Harry pressed the handle against Malfoy's chest. " _Never_ say that word in front of me."

Harry pulled back the broom as Madam Hooch strode towards them. "Black! Malfoy! What is going on?"

"Malfoy's tripped," Harry lied. "I was just helping him up."

Harry smirked and held out his hand to Malfoy to help him to his feet. Malfoy ignored it, getting up, moving close enough to be nose-to-nose with Harry. "You're a joke, do you know that, Black? Always using Muggle duelling."

"There's nothing Muggle about it," Harry sneered. "You're just an idiot."

Malfoy shook his head slowly. "You couldn't handle a real wizard duel."

"Try me," Harry snapped back. "Tonight. Midnight. Out in the courtyard."

"I'll be there," Malfoy hissed. "And this time you'll have to prove you know how to use your wand."

Malfoy strode off, while Harry went to finally put away his broom. When he emerged, he found Hermione glaring, at him, arms crossed over her chest. "Did you think that would impress me?" 

"I wasn't trying to impress you," Harry snapped. "I was defending your honour, but I'd do it for any Muggleborn who was called _that word_."

"And now you're going to duel Malfoy just to prove yourself tough." Hermione sniffed. "I'm sure it will be worth losing Gryffindor even more points because it means you'll be _cool_."

* * *

 

"You know Hermione's _right_ ," Neville said as he followed after Harry down the corridor. "You don't have to fight Malfoy just to prove you're cool."

"I'm not doing it to prove I'm cool!" Harry snapped irritably. "I'm doing it because he called Hermione and Lily Mudbloods." Of course, he was also doing it because Malfoy said Harry _couldn't_.

He could fight in a proper Western wizard duel. Sirius had taught him all of the rules for it. He just preferred _Mahō Budō._ He had been learning it for longer. It didn't require the use of a wand. Someone who had mastered the techniques was able to cast magic without the use of any tools, just their own body. Wands were nothing but something to focus on.

But he could duel all the same.

"You know Yuki wouldn't like this," Neville insisted. "She's always telling you to know _when_ to fight."

"That's fine for her to say now," Harry shot back. "Padfoot told me about all the times she got into duels in school."

"If you don't want to be here, you don't have to be, Neville," Ron pointed out, walking alongside Harry. "I'm going to be Harry's second."

"I don't need a second," Harry flexed his fingers around his wand. "I'll blast Malfoy back in a heartbeat."

"At least you're not overconfident," Neville grumbled.

"Ahem," a painting of a ballerina cleared her throat just before Harry turned the corner to the corridor leading out to the courtyard. "A very nice young man just ran through my painting. He said that Filch is patrolling the corridor. He recommended you go back."

Harry looked to Neville and Ron. He dramatically sighed. "Head back towards the Common Room. I'll get Malfoy later."

He now brought up the rear, Neville and Ron ahead of him. He purposefully moved slowly. Once they were sufficiently ahead of him, he took a turn down another corridor. He would find a way out of the castle. He wasn't going to let Malfoy call him a coward.

As Harry crept down the darkened corridor, he heard the sound of footsteps. He gulped when Professor McGonagall came into the light.

Instead of scolding him, McGonagall smiled broadly. "Wotcher, Harry."

The image of McGonagall shifted into that of Dora. She tilted her head slightly. "What are you doing here? It's midnight!"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, unsure of what to say to her.

"You're getting yourself in trouble. You've only been here a month and you're already sneaking about at night..." She shook her head slowly.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Harry asked defensively.

"You're eleven, Harry. I'm sure you can figure it out." Dora tilted her head down the corridor. "I was going to see Quirinus. But I heard you coming. I've got to make sure you don't get into trouble."

"I'm not--" Harry started.

Dora crossed her arms over her chest. "Who are you duelling?"

Harry shook his head furiously. "I'm not..."

Dora just raised an eyebrow. Harry huffed out a breath. "All right! His name is Draco Malfoy and he's a git. He called my friend Hermione _and_ Lily... Well... The M-Word."

Dora's jaw dropped, mouth falling open. "That's horrible! I would--" She cut herself off. "Still, there's no excuse for you going out for a midnight duel. You could get really hurt and in trouble."

"You got into trouble all the time!" Harry protested. "And you're breaking the rules right now! I'm pretty sure Professor Quirrell's not supposed to have his girlfriend sneaking into the castle!"

Dora's face turned very red and she looked away. "Well..." She shifted uncomfortably. "It's a stupid rule, isn't it? Professors are only allowed significant others if they're married. So outdated. Besides..." She leaned in. "I think Quirinus is going to ask me to marry him!"

Harry's eyes widened. Dora getting married? "Seriously? But..."

"But what?" Dora asked.

"You're just... Dora." Harry replied awkwardly.

Dora blinked, frowning deeply. "Are you saying that no one would want to marry me?"

Harry shook his head. "No! It's not that! It's just... Well, you're really young and... I thought... I thought you'd want to be _just Dora_ for a few years."

"And I'll still be Dora. Just a married Dora." She laughed. "I'm not sure, but I think so... I mean, he's been more nervous than usual lately..."

Harry wondered how Dora was able to tell if he was more nervous than usual, considering what he was like. But he let it go. She seemed happy and he didn't want to ruin that for her.

"So can you... You know, spend some time with him? Try to get to know him better?" She smiled broadly. "You mean the _world_ to me, Harry. And so does he. So... I want you two to get along."

Harry thought about it for a moment. He had been very uncomfortable when he'd spoken to Quirrell. And his lessons were incredibly dull. But Dora loved him. So finally, he nodded. "Of course."

"D-D-D-Dora?" Quirrell whispered as he walked down the corridor. "I-I w-w-was w-w-wondering wh-where y-y-you w-w-were."

Dora smiled as Quirrell approached her, hugging her from behind. "Sorry. I was on my way. I just got distracted by Harry here."

"Professor." Harry gave a nod and gulped. He'd been caught out of bed. "I... Umm..."

"I know Harry is out of bed, but maybe we could give him a break this time, Quirinus?" Dora looked over her shoulder to smile at him. "I mean, he is catching us breaking the rules too..."

"R-R-Right..." Quirrell nodded. "B-B-But st-st-straight t-to b-b-bed w-w-with y-you."

Harry gave another nod. "Yes Sir. Um... You two have a good night then." 

Harry awkwardly turned and hurried off back towards Gryffindor Tower, his duel with Malfoy long forgotten about.

* * *

 

Quirinus held Dora tightly as they watched Harry disappear down the corridor and around the corner. "He seems to be doing well," Dora asked. "I hope you two--"

Quirinus brought his hand up to her forehead and she fell limp in his arms. He picked her up in a bridal carry, hauling her to his chamber. He laid her down on the sofa. "Master, why must I keep doing this to her? Knocking her out and altering her memory..."

" _We have no time for her sentimental drivel_."

"But we could just not see her..." Quirinus reached a hand down, touching her cheek.

" _She is a gateway to Potter. She can help you gain his trust. Get him alone_."

Quirinus' hand hesitated on her cheek for one more moment before pulling away. "Master, we should just concern ourselves with the Stone."

" _We will have the stone!_ _But my resurrection will be for naught if my followers believe a child can stand against me_."

"But Master, your followers..." Quirinus hissed in a breath.

" _One remains loyal. One stayed hidden. So mind your tone. You can be replaced."_


End file.
